A New Kind of Torture

I may have been pregnant and exhausted at the time, but I remember when President Obama took office he promised to end the use of torture while interrogating suspected terrorists. Obviously, torture is inhumane and a violation of human rights, but I have watched enough episodes of 24 to know there are some Jack Bauer types out there using torture tactics whether Obama likes it or not. And for those counter-terrorism agents, I have a suggestion for you: ear wax removal. Water boarding and sensory deprivation don't hold a candle to this ball of wax (the wax puns are just too easy...). Why am I so up on forms of torture? Sadly, I witnessed Caitlin experience this tactic at her four month check-up yesterday.
I was nervous going into this appointment because Caitlin was scheduled for another round of immunizations. I didn't see the ear wax thing coming. As Dr. P. was performing her routine checks, she peeked into Caitlin's ears and said, "Hmmmm...she has a bit of wax build up in her right ear. I'm just going to get that out, o.k.?" Sure. When I remove wax from my ear, I use a Q-Tip and the sensation is somewhat pleasant. Instead of pulling out a Q-Tip, Dr. P. busted out a long, metal device resembling the instrument dentists use to scrape plaque away. I was not liking the looks of this, but then it got worse. Dr. P. asked me to hold Caitlin's hands. Now I knew we were in trouble, given that I had to restrain my baby daughter. As Dr. P. inserted the ear wax remover into Caitlin's ear I tried not to look, but it was sort of like driving past a car accident. You just can't help but stare. I watched Dr. P. dig into Caitlin's ear over and over again, each time removing a clump of orange ear wax. While it doesn't sound too traumatizing, trust me, it was brutal. Caitlin's screams must have scared off the majority of patients in the waiting room. As this was happening, Dr. P told me ear wax build up is hereditary and she asked, "Who is the waxy one in the family?" "My husband," I answered immediately, mostly because he wasn't there witnessing this trauma, therefore he gets the blame. Being an optimist, the positive spin on this experience is the shots did not bother Caitlin nearly as much as the ear digging. So, CIA, CTU, take notice: if you want answers and you want them now, call up your local pediatrician and ask to borrow their ear wax remover. Trust me, the bad guys will tell you anything you want to know.

Post Script:
On a lighter note (or heavier, depending on your view of things), Caitlin continues to thrive. As her ear wax grows in abundance, so does the rest of her body. She currently weights 17 lbs, 7 oz, which places her at the 98.13%tile. She measures 27.63 inches long, placing her at the 99.95%tile. She is meeting all developmental milestones, including rolling over, laughing, "talking," and lifting up her head and chest while on her tummy. She found her feet and loves trying to put them into her mouth. Lastly, Caitlin's two bottom teeth are coming in. Teething is bothering her and she has become a little fussy, but we will survive. Dr. P. gave us the go-ahead for solid foods in one month. We got a video camera for Christmas, so stay tuned for some cutting edge footage of Caitlin's adventures in eating!

Caitlin's First Christmas

Merry Christmas! Our family had a wonderful time celebrating Caitlin's first Christmas. Because she was such a good girl, Santa brought Caitlin lots of toys, books, and new clothes (in size 6-12 months!). Matt and I were really excited to celebrate Christmas with Caitlin. She was mostly excited about eating wrapping paper and playing with trash. Oh well, maybe she'll be more enthused next year. Here are some pictures from the holiday. Enjoy!







Caitlin visited Grammy and Uncle Chris on Christmas Day. Grammy bought the beautiful Christmas dress that somehow remained stain-free all day long!

Santa brought Caitlin a Kick and Play Piano, which she loved playing with on Christmas morning.

The happy family celebrating Christmas Eve at Nana and Papa's house. Notice the adorable reindeer feet? Love it!

Caitlin loved meeting Santa. Can't you just feel the excitement? I think she asked him for milk and wrapping paper and she got her wish!

Blessings

Last Sunday, we celebrated Caitlin's baptism at St. Mary's in Dedham. Caitlin looked like a little doll in mommy's Christening dress that hadn't seen the light of day in almost thirty two years. The dress fit her perfectly and the spit up stain on the collar was barely noticeable, thanks to some thorough washing by Grammy.

Prior to Caitlin's, I have only attended a handful of Christenings and I must have spent more time staring at the stained glass windows than watching the ceremony. I couldn't tell you for the life of me what happens at a baptism, except for the water over the head part. This speaks to the fact that I have become a huge church slacker in my old age. Both Matt and I grew up attending church every Sunday, or even worse, every Saturday afternoon at 4:00. We both attended C.C.D. and received every sacrament the Catholic church has to offer (except I was never confirmed, but don't tell my in-laws!) Despite our upbringings, Matt and I now only attend church on Christmas, Easter, and the occasional 11:30 Sunday mass. Since Caitlin was born, we haven't been to church at all.

So, being the church slacker that I am, I did not know what to expect at Caitlin's Christening. I knew I could not get away with staring at the stained glass windows for too long because this time I was required to participate. Before the ceremony, the deacon (if you want to know what a deacon is, please ask my sis-in-law, Meaghan-she was asked to stand up during the baptism and define deacon to the entire audience), explained what to expect, how to answer his questions, and reminded us to speak and sing-yes, sing-loudly. Because St. Mary's holds group Christenings, Matt and I had the benefit of watching two other families baptize their babies before our turn on the altar. Really, the Christening was simple. There was some speaking, some singing, and lots of standing and sitting, which is the trademark of a Catholic ceremony. The actual time on the altar was very brief. The deacon said a blessing, gave Caitlin a holy shower, and slathered her head and chest in very pungent oil, somewhat reminiscent of patchouli. Done.

During the baptism, the deacon spoke to those gathered about the significance of the sacrament and the blessings bestowed upon each new baby. This gave me some time to look at the stained glass windows after all, but it also gave me a moment to pause, reflect, and get my church on. I looked back at our families, smiling and snapping pictures. I looked down at Caitlin in my arms, trying to somehow wiggle out of the three layers of Christening dress. During that moment, I really did count my blessings. Matt and I truly are blessed to have a healthy, beautiful, and sweet baby girl. I think it is time I start thanking somebody, besides my O-B and my epidural, for bringing this little bundle into our lives. Maybe it is time Matt and I return to our churchy roots. Not only do I like the tradition of the family attending church on Sundays, I also like the tradition that follows mass (at least it did in my family)....doughnuts and the funny pages! A good Boston Cream, now that's a true blessing!

Celebrations

Today is Caitlin's three month birthday, which marks her transition from newborn to infant. Unfortunately, Caitlin is spending her big day with a stuffy nose and a little cough, but we still have plenty to celebrate. First and foremost, I celebrate our family surviving and adapting relatively well to life with baby. Nobody has reported us to DSS, our house is still standing (even though it's a little messy), and I even have managed to shower every day since Caitlin was born. Secondly-and more jubilantly-, I celebrate Caitlin. She has changed and grown so much during her first three months. When Caitlin first came home, she was little more than an adorable blob who slept, pooped, and ate all day and all night long. Although she still sleeps, poops, and eats plenty, she has much more to offer. Caitlin can now smile, laugh, babble, hold up her head, and roll onto her left and right sides. She goes to bed by 7:30 each night and is very close to sleeping through the night. During her waking hours, Caitlin is alert and notices all the excitement surrounding her, such as mom making oatmeal or watching bad daytime television. Caitlin's first three months have also brought many adventures, including a bridal shower, a wedding, a Halloween party, and countless shopping trips and errands. When I think of our first three months together I feel very proud of both my baby and myself. All in all, I think we've done pretty well. While Caitlin's sniffles may deter her partying, I think I may treat myself to a slice of cake tonight.

The Danger Zone

Once Caitlin was ready to use her infant tub, Matt and I came up with a nightly bath time routine. After dinner, Caitlin has a short date with Mr. Octopus, then we begin getting her ready for the bath. Matt preps Caitlin, which involves trying to pull her onesie over her head without eliciting screams and removing her diaper. Every night after Matt removes her diaper he lifts Caitlin high into the air, flies her around a bit, then slowly places her into the bathtub. For obvious reasons, I call this brief period of diaper-free time "The Danger Zone." I also like to sing Kenny Loggins's The Danger Zone while this is happening (you know the Top Gun theme song, Maverick and Goose flying around in fighter jets....). Anyway, last night as Caitlin entered The Danger Zone I said, "Look, Matt! She's smiling!" You know how people always say a baby's smile means they have gas? Sure enough, just as Matt lifted Caitlin high into the air, she did a giant poop which splattered all over the kitchen floor. This may be the first time I actually felt glad we haven't installed our hardwood floors yet. Fortunately for Matt, he held Caitlin away from his body, therefore he remained poop-free. Our floor, however, was a different story. The next thirty seconds was a frenzy of hysterical laughter, Matt saying, "What do I do? Where should I put her?" and me trying to quickly wipe the poop from the floor. Although we were doubled over laughing, we somehow managed to clean both the baby and the floor. Matt and I learned our lesson last night: Caitlin's time flying through The Danger Zone will be cut short, at least for now. Maverick is grounded.

Baby Love

I didn't think I would have to worry about this until she was much older, but Caitlin has fallen head over heels in love. While she has plenty of handsome baby boy suitors, Caitlin only has eyes for one-the octopus who is the centerpiece of her Baby Einstein activity mat. I have given him the highly original name of Mr. Octopus. Yes, Mr. Octopus has stolen Caitlin's heart-she is utterly and completely enamored of him. I am not entirely pleased that my two month old baby is involved in a romantic relationship. Furthermore, I find her taste highly questionable. First of all, Mr. Octopus has eight legs. Aren't two enough for her? Second, Mr. Octopus has terrible fashion sense. He wears a tiny white hat and white kerchief around his neck which I think are supposed to represent his nautical sensibilities. Personally, I think Mr. Octopus looks more like the Pillsbury Dough Boy or Chef Boyardee, but I would never say that to Caitlin. She obviously is pleased with his attire.

You may be thinking, how did this love affair begin? It didn't happen overnight. At first, Caitlin didn't really notice Mr. Octopus. For a while she favored the illuminated music box displayed on the side of her activity mat. Then one day she started looking up. Mr. Octopus has some accessories hanging from his eight legs, like an orange plastic fish and a little rattle. At first Caitlin would look at Mr. Octopus, then shyly turn away. After a couple of days, she started tentatively batting at his legs. Several days after that, she began smiling at Mr. Octopus and even aggressively grabbing at his orange fish. Now, she's in deep. When Caitlin looks at Mr. Octopus she squeals in delight, giggles, coos, smiles-all of the things she is supposed to do when she looks at me! Yes, I'm a little jealous of this eight legged sailor.

Fortunately, since Caitlin remains immobile I largely control their dates. If I find things are getting too intense, I immediately remove Caitlin from the activity mat. Sometimes we even leave the room. All of her dates are supervised-unless I need to squeeze in a quick shower (in which case I am actually quite grateful to Mr. Octopus for keeping her safely entertained). Are there wedding bells in their future? We'll see what happens when we break out the Exersacuer in a couple of months.

Itsy Bitsy Yoga

Last week, my momma friend Julie asked if I wanted to join her for a free baby yoga class at Destination Maternity in Natick. Julie's baby is seven months old, which made me a little hesitant to bring Caitlin. Mr. Seven Month Old is already sitting up, holding his head up high, rolling over-he's practically walking for goodness sakes! How could little two month old Caitlin keep up? Well, Julie talked to me into it and this morning Caitlin and I were on our way to Itsy Bitsy Yoga at 8:45 (which I think was a pretty great achievement in itself!)
After a little bit of traffic and a little bit of mom getting lost, Caitlin and I arrived in class two minutes late. I'd never been to a mom and baby class before and didn't really know what to expect. Would all the moms already be friends and wonder, "Who are the new kids?" What if Caitlin cries, or needs to nurse? When we entered the classroom I saw moms nursing openly, babies fussing and crying, and diapers being changed. I felt instantly relaxed in this safe, free to be you and me environment, so Caitlin and I sat on a yoga mat and got ready to work out.
You may wonder, how does a baby do yoga anyway? I wondered the same thing. I can barely manage a Downward Facing Dog, how is Caitlin going to do that? She can't even sit up without me holding her in a death grip. Well, the "exercises" were really more mom-based, such as mom pulling baby's legs, mom bouncing the baby on her lap, and mom swaying the baby from side to side. Nobody told me this was a work out class for mom, but no big deal. I need to get back into shape anyway!
About five minutes into class our Baby Yoga Master taught us some "poses" that aid digestion and calm an upset tummy. As the instructor said, "This pose may help a baby who has trouble going to the bathroom," my little yogi looked up at me, smiled, turned red, then unloaded a giant poop right on cue. The sound was so loud and lasted for such a long time that everybody in the class heard, not just the people sitting on either side. This was the kind of poop that caused us to go through not one, but two diapers and use about 27 wipes during the changing process. Thank goodness for the nurturing, safe environment I mentioned before. After changing her diaper, Caitlin went right back to some tummy poses quite happy and relaxed. We finished out the class without further incident and Caitlin thoroughly enjoyed her workout. I no longer have my doubts about baby yoga-it obviously works!

Happy Halloween!

Caitlin celebrated her first Halloween yesterday with family and friends. We had a busy day filled with pumpkin carving, candy eating (mostly done by myself, as Caitlin has no teeth), party going, and greeting trick or treaters. Caitlin dressed up in her adorable monkey costume. She tolerated the costume pretty well, probably because I dressed her up several times leading up to the big day. The highlight of Caitlin's first Halloween was a neighborhood party at our cousins' home. There were fifteen children under the age of three at the party, Caitlin being the youngest in attendance. As you can see from the pictures, Caitlin was the life of the party!

823

During my stay at Newton-Wellesley, I met Sarah and Corinne, who gave birth to baby boys on August 22nd and August 23rd (hence the name of our play group-823). We exchanged contact information and decided to form a "play group" and get together every few weeks. Thus far, we've met twice. As our babies are still too young to play, we spend our meetings chatting, eating, and trying to soothe our babies to sleep so we can really relax-today we even had a glass of wine! It's been wonderfully refreshing and affirming to talk with other mothers going through similar experiences. During today's play date, we dressed up the bambinos in their Halloween finest and tried to take as many pictures possible before they burst into tears. Corinne's baby, Dylan, is the adorable moo cow and Sarah's baby, Ryan, is the very handsome fire fighter. Of course, Miss Caitlin is the super cute monkey. Caitlin behaved wonderfully and enjoyed her play date. I think the boys wore her out-she was asleep by 8:30 tonight!

Advanced Placement

Clearly I suffered from PTVD yesterday (Post-Traumatic Vaccination Disorder, obviously), because I neglected to share Caitlin's latest stats. Drum roll please.......weight-14 lbs. 14.5 oz and height 24.5 inches, placing her respectively in the 98% and 99% percentiles. Dr. P. asked what I am eating to grow such a strong, healthy bambina. I did admit to a slight peanut butter addiction, but I left out my recent steroid use for fear of legal ramifications.

I also asked Dr. P why Caitlin cannot stop stuffing her fist into her mouth. It's unbecoming and frankly, quite spitty and messy. I was certain the fist-to-mouth action meant one of two things: A. Caitlin is already teething, or B. Caitlin has an oral fixation and will need years of Freudian therapy. Clearly, I'm no pediatrician because Dr. P actually told me eating one's fist is a developmental milestone for a FOUR MONTH OLD baby. That's right, everybody...Caitlin is advanced (obviously, look at her parents!) I am not sure why this is such a wonderful accomplishment, but I am so proud of my precocious little hand eater.

"A little ouchy"

Happy two month birthday, Caitlin! To celebrate the big day, I took Caitlin to visit our dear friend, Dr. Perry. Dr. Perry gave Caitlin a very special present: her DTaP, Hep B, Pneumococ/pedi-conjugate, and Rotavirus vaccines. Birthday spankings pale in comparison to this form of torture. When presented with her gifts, Caitlin experienced a range of emotions. As the gift was injected carefully into her chubby little thighs, Caitlin remained still and quiet and I thought to myself, "Awesome...she is not going to cry." I was so proud of my strong, stoic little birthday girl and then....Caitlin's face began to change from a petal pink to a fireball red and she let out a blood curdling, heart wrenching wail. Thankfully, Dr. Perry is adept at shot-giving. The ordeal ended as quickly as it began and soon Cailtin was scooped up and snuggled close. Her screams subsided to whimpers and she promptly fell asleep and remained asleep-even through the car seat to crib transition, which is usually the kiss of death. All told, little Caitlin handled her vaccinations quite well. Perhaps even more impressive, I believe I also displayed strength and courage during this ordeal. Although I did not shed a tear, a little part of me cried on the inside. Mom, I finally understand why you fainted each and every time I got hurt or bled.

Thus far, Caitlin's two month birthday celebration has proved slightly traumatizing and thoroughly exhausting. I promise to make it up to her once she wakes from her nap. We're serving up a Carvel ice cream cake and the clowns are coming over around two.

The adventures of blogging

As a new mom, I quickly learned to tackle new challenges, such as swaddling, breast pumping, and assembling incredibly complicated baby equipment (the Graco SnugRide car seat was next to impossible). For my next challenge, I decided to start a blog chronicling the adventures of my baby girl Caitlin, who joined our family on 8-23-09. Thus far, most of Caitlin's adventures consist of strolls around the block, trips to Roche Brothers, and pooping through the majority of her Carter's onesies. I am sure as she grows her adventures will become slightly more stimulating and enriching. As Caitlin grows, changes, and learns each day, I am also continuously growing and learning as a new momma. Case in point: I learned that all new, with-it moms start blogs, so I figured I would join them. Thus marks my first adventure in blogging. Will there be more where this came from? Well, I guess it all depends on how long Caitlin naps.