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.