What A Great Night!

Ahhhh...the sweet, sweet feeling of being normal, if only for a few hours.

Last night, Kelly and I drank a bottle of wine, sat on the front porch, made cookies at 10:30 at night, stayed up until 11:30 and had a NORMAL, grown up time. We paid for it when Bailey was up to feed at 12:45, 4:45 and then again at 6:30...but who cares????

God, it felt good to be normal.

Fast Paced World

This week is seriously fast paced. We have my uncle and his daughter here. Sunday night through Tuesday night (and all day Wednesday) Kelly was out of town. We've been to the Zoo, the Aquarium, the Museum of Natural History (which was accompanied by 12 hours in the city), the community pool and tomorrow we are going to Mt. Vernon. Our Bailey has been so good it's unbelievable. It's incredibly exhausting for her to be so active, but she's hung in there pretty well.

I must say, I have too. While Kelly was gone, I did the work that is usually spread over two people and entertained two other people...one of whom is 11 years old. I've managed to keep our house clean, our laundry done, the baby mostly happy and our company entertained. I'm exhausted.

I'm very much looking forward to next week. My plan is to do absolutely nothing. Hang out with Bailey and watch movies. Maybe read a book. You know. Nothing.

I'll write more tomorrow (maybe). Bailey is finally napping in her swing and I have a few minutes to wash her bottles and get the kitchen ready for dinner making...

Bailey Watching

A couple of updates...

Yesterday was a big, huge day for Bailey. I left her for over eight hours while I went to Baltimore. I discovered that I am no different than any other new Mom. I called, she was crying and I just fell apart. I cried a lot. Then I called back. Four times. Finally she was quiet and I could breathe again. It was rough. But it was also a milestone. For both of us.

The other thing is that she slept for SEVEN hours last night in one stretch. Then she woke up and ate and went back down for another 3 hours. Honestly, she's truly growing up.

All the angst of the first few weeks is over. Bailey is truly becoming a wonderful baby. She's mellowed out so much. She's sweet. People just fall all over themselves to be near her. She's magnetic in many ways. It's very, very cool. I love how she can just pull people to her. I hope that part of her personality sticks around.

We think she is always going to be intense, but she's as intensely sweet as she is moody. She's got a pretty intoxicating combination.

We think, anyway.

Here are some new pictures!

Here is that intensity I was talking about. When she's looking at something, it's hard to distract her!

She really likes to stare at people!
She started playing while we had her sitting here...
Notice the movement. She's really flailing about!
But then things started to fall apart...
And then we realized why...

Ahhhh...finally...

Animals!

We've been to the Zoo and to the Aquarium. Kelly, Bailey, Lance, Rhiannon and I all headed out to the National Zoo very early on Sunday morning. The goal was to beat the heat and the crowds, and boy, did we ever!!! We got there at about 7 AM and it was PERFECT! It was sunny, cool and there was NOBODY. Best of all, all the animals were out eating and playing before it got too hot. We saw everything we wanted to see and had a great time.

That night, Kelly left for her business trip.

The next day, I dropped Bailey off at Mark and Barb's house for the day. It's too long a drive to take her all the way to Baltimore, carry her around the Aquarium and then drive all the way home...so I left her for about eight hours. It was SOOO hard. During the Live Dolphin Show, I cried a lot. I realized, for the first time, that it actually is going to be very hard to leave her at child care.

But, we'll get through it.

I don't have a lot of time - Bailey is sitting on my lap, rapidly getting bored with staring at the miniblinds!

Here's a cute video of her talking to us about how hungry she's getting!

Quick Post

I'm here alone...or rather, without Kelly. Kelly is traveling and I've got my uncle and his daughter here with me. It's hard to entertain and do everything for the house that is usually split over two people. More than that, I miss my wife like crazy. Last night I laid in bed staring at the ceiling for two and half hours before I could sleep. I had to call her at 10:30 just to hear her voice before I could fall asleep. I kept waking up and reaching over to touch her and she wasn't there.

:-(

Thank God she's only gone for three days.

I have the utmost respect for those people who find ways to be away from their partners for long periods of time (MAJOR props to soldiers wives who do it while wondering if their partner is alive). I can't even begin to imagine the difficulty.

Today, Bailey is staying with Kelly's boss's wife and her daughters while I take Lance and Rhiannon to the Baltimore Aquarium. It's going to be hard for me to be away from Bailey, but honestly, it'll be easier on her than being out in public and in the car for hours. Besides she'll get super loved and super spoiled at Barb's! They love her over there...

Yesterday we all went to the Zoo. I have great pictures, but no time to download and post them. Bailey was an absolute perfect angel. Have I mentioned how much she's changed recently??? She's like a whole new child...easy going except when she's hungry. But no long random crying jags. She only cries when she wants food or when she's super tired. I know how to fix those things.

I promise pictures when I can get a second. It probably won't be till Kelly is back...but I might get a second...we'll see!

Some Vidoes

Here are some videos! Now that we're private, I don't mind sharing them...

This is Bailey at 5 weeks, 4 days old playing in her bouncy chair.


Here is Bailey talking to the doll that her Nana and Pappy Dale got her while we were in WV.


This is Bailey with her cousin, Camryn this past Saturday! Isn't Camryn a doll???


Here is one more of Bailey and Camryn the next day. Keep in mind that Camryn is three and a half weeks older...LOL! Our Bailey is a big girl!

We're Private!

Well, this blog is officially private. If you know of people who were not invited and who read regularly, feel free to send me their email address and I'll add them!

So...last night we had the mother of all vomit incidents! I assume that this is only the first, but boy, it was GROSS! Our sweet lady usually goes to bed around 8 or 8:30 PM. I bath her and then feed her a bottle. The bottle fills her little tummy and she crashes out...usually for 5-6 hours before wanting her next one.

Well. Last night, she didn't go to sleep. We fed her a six ounce bottle (that's a lot for her age), but she wanted more. That's not such a big deal; she's been going through a growth spurt the past couple of days. Kelly headed downstairs and got her two more ounces...to bring her to 8. Now...that really is A LOT of food and she should have fallen sound asleep before finishing. But she didn't. She scarfed it all up and started fussing for more.

At this point, I refused her. I brought her downstairs and put her in the sling (the magic fix). But it didn't fix it. She just screamed in the sling. So I put her down and let her fuss for a few minutes in her chair, with the thought that she would at least tire herself out. She fussed alright...and didn't get the least bit tired. At this point, I was as frustrated as she was, so I got another bottle (with four ounces in it) thinking that she would just have a few swallows and be done with it. She had a few swallows...and then a few more...and then some more. And still, the eyes were wide open and her hands were just grabbing at everything (my hands, the bottle, her clothes). In other words, no closer to sleep than she had been.

I took the bottle away after three ounces. I realized that while feeding her may be what she wanted, it definitely wasn't going to help her feel any better. In fact, I expected her to vomit most of what she had put in back up. Bailey was MAD that I took her bottle away. So she threw a fit that last about 15 minutes causing her to have one good burp of vomit. I cleaned her up, cleaned myself up and brought her back upstairs. In the very dark room, with the fans on, Miss. Bailey finally fell asleep. It was 10 PM by this time.

I crawled into bed, kissed my sleeping wife, and immediately fell sound asleep myself. I was woken at 10:30 by the sound of Bailey gagging. I have never moved so fast in my entire life. I was up, glasses on, flashlight turned on and Bailey in my arms before I realized what I was doing. The poor girl had vomit all over the front of her. I assumed that was the end, until she let out a loud belch and vomited all down my back and onto the carpet, leaving a puddle of vomit at my feet.

Now, my disgust didn't come until later. After all, this was my baby vomiting down my back and if it was gross for me, it must have been horrible for her. Thank god I sleep naked. At least I knew that I would be easy to clean up.

Kelly had jumped out of bed at the sound of the vomit splattering on the floor, and she grabbed a towel and mopped Bailey's face up and then mopped my back, legs, butt and shoulder up. Gross. Meanwhile, I'm trying to comfort a sobbing, vomit covered child enough so that I can put her down to change her diaper and clothes.

After a few minutes, she started calming down and I changed her. I pulled off her diaper to discover that somewhere in all of this, Bailey had pooped as well. She was seriously batting 100 last night.

I cleaned her up, wiped her down with a warm wash cloth, got her in some fresh, warm clothes and then handed her to Kelly. I took a shower. While in the shower, I tried to decide if I should laugh or cry...but decided it all went with the territory and just smiled. Poor girl.

Here are a couple of seriously cute pictures of her last night...

Seriously, how cute can she be??? This is what she does when Kelly gets home every night! She loves her Mommy dearly...

You think she knew the kind of mischief she was going to cause??
This is the "Wow, I'm really tired...is it time for my bath yet?" look...
And this is what we wanted her to be doing at 8:30 last night...

Rhythmic

That is the best word that I have for life right now...it's rhythmic. I spend lots of time bouncing, walking, shushing, feeding, holding, playing and loving on Bailey...and it all feels very much in rhythm. I can predict the cycles. I know when she's going to be pissed off and when she will be easily calmed. I know when she is going to fall asleep and when she's just not going to no matter what. I know when she's hungry and when she wants to be on my breast. I know when her diaper needs to be changed and when she's bored.

Her cries are predictable and her needs are easy to figure out most days. So life has emerged into a rhythm that has brought calm back to my life. It's nice to know that after her 5 AM feeding, she'll spend a couple of hours sleeping (or at least being quiet) in her swing. I can use this time to shower and to catch up on emails and to blog. Amazing. It's me time. I know that on any given day she could change her mind, and that's okay. Most days it's quite predictable.

One thing we haven't figured out is the car. She hates it when she's in the back seat alone. HATES IT. She screams so long and so loud. It's devastating...for her and for me. Honestly, it makes me not want to leave the house, but then I'd go completely crazy. I've got to get out. So she cries and I hurry to our destination and hope that I can calm her when we get there. Poor baby. I hate it that she hates it so much.

Okay...we'll I had better run and get a shower before she wakes up. She protests loudly when she wakes up and can't see anyone...LOL!

Going Private

Just in case anyone missed it at the very end of the post yesterday, this blog is going private on Friday morning! I won't list the reasons again, but if you want to keep reading, please post a comment with your email address. I will not post the comments (so your email address will not end up on the blog!).

For those of you who have already requested, THANK YOU!! I did get all the requests and you'll be on the list on Friday!

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Okay - enough of that. All is good today. Bailey and I are off on a play date with S from M&S and their little boy. I'm looking forward to some adult company and another chance to see their little guy. It's been a while.

I hope our little girl behaves. Her newest thing is to cry so hard that she makes herself vomit. Honest to god, she gets herself so worked up. For no reason at all. Well, I guess she thinks she has a reason - I don't mean to belittle her pain - but really. Vomiting?? There has got to be a better way to express frustration!

She's 7 weeks old today and we're just in love with her. Her antics are frustrating in moments, but more and more we just find them amusing. We're less worried about her fragility and more able to find the humor in our drama queen. Don't get me wrong, there are days when I feel like I'd rather kill myself than spend one more minute with her, but those moments are less and less frequent.

I keep thinking about going back to work in three and a half weeks. That's kind of a rough thought. And yet, I'm excited about it. I'm happy that I'm going to get the time to be an adult again. I'm excited about my job and the opportunities that it presents me. I'm excited for me. But I'm sad for Bailey. She is going to struggle in child care at first. She won't get the same attention and as emotional and needy as she is for me, she's going to have a really hard time. We only hope the she adjusts relatively quickly. I have such good memories of my child care when we were young...I hope the it's not a horribly traumatic thing for her.

But, the reality is that we have no other options. This is our life, and our reality. Bailey is a part of that reality, so she'll have to live within its boundaries as well.

Here's a couple of cute pictures from our trip...

Bailey Playing with Camryn

Bailey and her Nana

Bailey Giggling at her Aunt Jodie

My Goodness

Well, it seems that for the time being, I'm going to be a bit slower in the posting department. It's just hard to find the time. Bailey needs a lot of my attention right now. When I get back to work and have a moments in the morning without her, I'll post every day again!

BUT...our first long road trip was fabulous! Our little lady slept the entire way (for the most part) both there and back. She slept for 6 and a half hours in one stretch in the hotel room (in her car seat, in between us on the bed!). She was sweet and had no major meltdowns...except right before bed, but she couldn't help it...she was tired!!!! It was really, really wonderful to see the family and it was great for them to meet Bailey.

AND...we finally met our new niece, Camryn!!!! It's about time!!! She's beautiful and just as sweet as can be! It's funny because she and Bailey couldn't be more different. She is very calm and spends lots of time just looking around. When she cries, it's quite soft and sounds very pitiful. Bailey's cry sounds like someone has stabbed her. Poor little Camryn just didn't know what to do with Bailey. She was so much louder! LOL!

We have some really, really good pictures of the two of them together, but I'm not going to post any yet. I need to get permission from her Mom and Dad before I post her picture on the internet!

It was a wonderful trip and something that we'll do again.

The only other thing is that Kelly and I are going to make our blog private, I think. We post lots of details about our life and our child, and we don't want to share that with the entire world. SOOO....let me know if you want to keep reading. I have to figure out how blogger works in "private" mode...you might have to sign up and have an account. If so, I apologize for the pain in the butt...but you understand, right? I mean, she's only an infant...we don't want random people knowing everything about her.

So, leave a comment and let me know you want to be added. Give me the email address that you will register with and I'll add it to the list. I won't post the comments with email addresses in them (so you don't have to worry about your email address being out there for everyone!).

We'll be going private at the end of this week...

Finally

Yes, I finally have a moment to blog! I just spent 20 minutes catching up with the blogs I read and responding to email that I haven't had a chance to respond to. Life seems to have moved into high gear in the past couple of days.

First, the thing you are all most interested in...Bailey! She is doing very, very well. Overnight it seems that she has entered a phase of interacting more, crying less, sleeping better and overall just being more pleasant. Tonight, we sat on the couch and sang nursery rhymes. In particular, she was very interested in the Itsy Bitsy Spider and Bingo. I think that was because those are the songs that have hand motions to go with them. I wish I knew sign language...fluently. I'd sign all the songs I sang and teach her that way.

She's decided to start breastfeeding. I say she, because I cannot take any credit for it. The only thing that I contributed to this was that my body had not stopped making milk. It had slowed down, for sure, but not completely. So, we were in the bath. The heat had caused a drop of milk to leak from my breast, and Bailey, while throwing herself around got a taste. She looked surprised for a second and then threw herself (literally) at my breast, where she proceeded to latch onto my nipple. By herself. And then she stayed there. For 20 minutes. So I switched her to the other side, where she stayed for another 15. And that is where it began. The next time I tried (the next morning) she latched like a super star. Ever since, I've been latching her five or six times a day. She stays on the breast for quite a while each time. For the first few minutes, I can hear her swallowing, so I know that she's getting milk. After that, it slows down. I keep her latched, though, because they say that it's the suckling that will cause my milk supply to increase. I'm also taking Fenugreek to help out. It seems that each day my breasts produce more. I doubt that Bailey will ever be exclusively breast fed, but I'm willing to let her go for it whenever she wants. We'll supplement with the bottle to keep her fed and happy.

Interesting, huh? Seems that nature wins and Miss. Bailey decided it was time to be a breast fed baby. I'm just glad that my milk supply had not dried up.

The three of us are headed to West Virginia this weekend for Bailey to make her grand debut with that side of our family. We also get to finally meet our new niece!!! It's been weird to not know her, and we're very much looking forward to it. We're hoping that Bailey does alright in the car...she doesn't really like it. It'll be a long, long four hour drive if she decides to scream the entire way (or until she cries herself to sleep). We are staying in a hotel also, so hopefully she'll do alright sleeping. If not, we'll deal with it, but this is a good test to see what kind of traveler our little honey is.

The adoption paperwork is finally all pulled together and on its way to our attorney. I'm not sure what the next step is, but I think that she will file the paperwork and the petition for adoption with the court. I assume that we will then be assigned a court date and that will be that. I could be wrong, but that seems logical.

I can't wait for Bailey to legally belong to Kelly. There is a level of discomfort that I have when I think about what would happen if I died. I mean, I know that our families would not fight Kelly having soul custody of Bailey. My will makes it very clear that Kelly is the person with whom Bailey belongs. But legally, if anyone wanted to challenge Kelly's rights to Bailey, they could. And that isn't right. Not one bit. When the adoption is final, it doesn't matter what happens. The entire world could go completely conservative and decide that they will never allow another same-sex, second parent adoption and Bailey will STILL be Kelly's child in the eyes of the law. Once it's done, it cannot be undone. I can't wait.

That is what's been going on. Tomorrow is Kelly's office picnic. We'll spend lots of time outside, enjoying the sun and other kids. I probably won't have time to write...but I'll have lots of picture when we get back from WV! For now, these pictures were taken today...isn't she growing up???

Sorry!!!

I'm so sorry that I haven't had a chance to blog recently. Bailey is going through a huge growth spurt and is very needy. I only have moments in the day when she lets me put her down. I can't hold her and type, so I haven't had a chance to be online at all.

Bailey is doing wonderfully. She is growing like a weed and every day brings news changes. She learned how to breastfeed. I'll tell that story later...but in short, she figured it out on her own and has been latching on five or six times a day for 20-30 minutes on each side each time. I'm taking herbal supplements to help increase my supply. She's still having formula, but hopefully that will decrease as my supply increases.

Bailey is crying to be picked up and comforted. I've gotta run. I promise...more later!

Alone Time

Not me...Bailey! Bailey seems to like her alone time when she's had all of her other needs met. She likes to sit in her chair or on the bed and just look around at the world. She love looking at the mini blinds when they are closed, and she absolutely adores her Sassy Me-in-the-Mirror. She lays there and sticks her tongue out at herself, reaching out every now and then to see if she can touch it.

Another thing that she really likes is the bath. She likes it when we get in the big garden tub together. It's kind of like swimming. She stretches her body out, and kicks her feet. She doesn't splash her hands yet...she still keeps those pretty close to her chest. We can spend lots of time in the bath, just floating in the water with me.

She's really developing beyond that "blob" stage that Angelina Jolie was talking about! She's getting so interactive. It's amazing to watch.

Today, I have my final doctors appointment. I've got to get ready and go. Bailey is starting to get fussy, so I'm going to try to settle her and then get some breakfast. Then a shower. Then off to the doctors. She was up quite a bit last night, so we are all tired today. It'll be a low key day.

We've Got Pride!

Bailey has officially attended her first Gay Pride Parade! We had a wonderful, wonderful time with Tiffany, Steph and Kelsie hanging out with thousands of other people and being proud! Bailey was a perfect angel. She slept most of the time, and was absolutely adorable. We got so many comments from people..."she's the most adorable baby I've ever seen."

We had a great time...

Bailey Videos

Bailey tries so hard to suck her thumb!!!



Enjoying the mobile in her swing!



Alert Time on Momma's lap!

Bailey Update!

Bailey had her 1 month checkup yesterday (although it was a week late!) and she is doing great! She weighs 12 pounds, 9 ounces and is 23 and 3/4 inches long! She's our big, big girl! She is perfectly proportioned and seems to be in perfect health! She got her second Hep B vaccination this time around and seemed absolutely devastated that I let them stab her with that sharp needle. I hated seeing her cry, but she has to get the vaccination for child care, so there you have it. Next time around will be the most difficult...it's four shots and an oral vaccination in one trip. Uggg....

Here's a couple of new pictures:

Just after bathtime!

Trying to hold her own bottle at five weeks old!

Babies Everywhere!

This time, they are not the human variety!!! About six weeks ago, we noticed that there was a hole in our front garden bed. Every time we would fill it up, the hole would come back. We assumed it was a small animal of some kind. With the pregnancy so close to ending, we just kind of forgot about dealing with it.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, we noticed that a bunny was sitting in our flower bed...on the hole. We began to think that we had found our hole-digger and we were thinking that there would be babies soon.

Sure enough, when she hopped off the hole, there was four or five little babies. They were tiny...like an inch long, with no hair. They were just rooting around for all it was worth trying to get more milk from their Momma. We filed the information away and went about our business.

Well, last night, Kelly needed to mow the lawn. She was going kind of quickly, because it was hot and she wanted to get it done. She mowed over a hole and out popped this little tiny animal. It was hopping funny and she was convinced that she had mortally wounded the animal.

She came running into the house and in the most distressed voice I've ever heard said "Honey, I hit a chipmunk. Help!". Well, I was holding and feeding Bailey at the time, so she had to come stay with her. I went outside to investigate, asking myself in my head "what the hell am I supposed to do???" I went out and found the little animal. It was sitting in the grass. I didn't see any blood. The animal wasn't thrashing around and wasn't panting (a sure sign of pain). In fact, it was just sitting there. I wondered if it was already dead. I took a closer look and realized that this was not a chipmunk. It was one of our baby bunnies!!!!!!!!

So, I rushed into the garage and got one of the spare towels we keep there. My intention was to check out the bunny and see how/if it was hurt. If it was suffering, I was going to figure out how to put it out of it's misery. (GROSS). I came back and gently tried to pick the little bunny up with a wash cloth. I was being very gentle, because I didn't want to hurt it more if indeed it was hurt. By this time, Kelly had come back outside holding a screaming Bailey (we had dropped her bottle in all the fuss). The second time I reached down for the bunny, it hopped away quite rapidly. I was able to see as it moved that there was no major blood anywhere and the bunny was hopping just fine. It looked like the only injury the bunny sustained was a little nick to its ear when the blades went over the hole.

Thank God. The bunny hung out on our front walk and in the flower bed for a while and then eventually went back to the hole. My distraught wife walked our front yard slowly looking for signs of any other bunny. Finding none, she finished mowing the yard.

Seems like we'll have to be really careful from now on! Here are a couple of really cute pictures of the bunny!

My Smunchie

I'm holding my little Smunchie right now, and feeling like the entire world is revolving around this little scrunched up bundle on my chest. She's so beautiful and warm and sweet. I am in awe that my body created this and that our love and care has kept her alive and thriving. Talk about doing "life's work". It is such a wonderful honor to be the person that cares for her. I remember how safe my Momma felt when I would rest my head on her chest. Or how comforted I was by the smell of her. It makes me want to cry to think that Bailey probably feels those things about me and Kelly. What a wonderful gift.

Bailey has a doctor's appointment this morning. I thought it was yesterday and got us all ready to go, showed up and they told me it was today. Ugg. I'm a little worried...this is her day to get shots. Ugg. She's gonna hate that. I'm gonna hate how it makes her feel after. I'll be wearing her all day, though...providing constant comfort.

I'm cleaning today, getting ready for our company. Tiffany and Steph are coming up with their daughter, and I can't wait! I'm not sure if I'm more excited to see them all, to have someone else hold the baby for an extended period of time, or just for the change of pace. LOL - who knows? It's gonna be fun, though! I'm really looking forward to going to the Parade. We're meeting up with M&S&D, and I can't wait to see their little guy!!!!

To make it all that much better, last night Bailey slept for a full five hour stretch. PHEW! God love that swing...

Magic

This swing is magic. It's the Fisher Price Baby Papasan Cradle Swing. Our child is not the best sleeper in the world. She's restless a lot of the time and is still waking up frequently. We've noticed that during the day she sleeps wonderfully and I've finally broken through my exhausted brain and figured out why!

During the day, I hold Bailey and feed her and then snuggle her to sleep. It's pretty much a routine during the day. When she's good and sleeping, I put her in her swing. I turn it on, and it rocks her. She sleeps. For hours. Usually 3 or more at a stretch.

For a couple of nights now, Kelly and I have been tossing around the idea that we should bring the swing upstairs to our bedroom for the nighttime. And finally, last night, we did. She slept in this swing all night long!!! Not uninterrupted...she was up on her regular 3 1/2 hour schedule for feedings. But she woke up easy and ate and then went right back to sleep. She didn't wake up when I transferred her to the swing, and she stayed asleep comfortably.

As an added side benefit, Kelly and I slept GREAT. Without Bailey in our bed, we actually were able to sleep, and sleep hard, during the times that we could. God, it was marvelous.

I wasn't a big swing fan and we were not going to buy one for Bailey. Our friend, and now our savior, KP from California bought this swing as a gift for Bailey. It rocks her back and forth, and she can snuggle down into it. Thank you, so much, KP for the gift we didn't know we needed and wouldn't know what to do without at this point!!!!

Sleep Transitions

Every day Bailey changes, and yet she cycles in predictable patterns. Weird. Last night was a rough night for sleep. She was up from 6 PM until 10 PM (a long time for her) and then went down for about four hours. Good. Then up to eat and then back down for two and a half. Not so great, but okay. Then back up to eat...then she STAYED UP!!!! She was up from 4:30 this morning until around 6:30 this morning. She usually crashes right back out for another three hour stretch. She's sleeping now, but it's restless.

Strange.

I'm glad that I can survive on very little sleep. I'm not always the nicest person, but I can function. It's a good thing with a baby.

Today, we're headed back into DC. Bailey and I are going to my office to celebrate two of my coworkers birthdays. Then, we're off to Maverick Mama's house for a playdate with her adorable son and some adult conversation! Well, she and I will have the adult conversation. And at the rate Bailey is going, she'll just sleep...but hell...we're trying!

Tomorrow is Bailey's doctor's appointment. We are looking forward to learning how much she weighs, because she seems to be growing out of everything. We can't keep sleepers around that are big enough for her. She's already outgrown the 3 month sleepers we bought two weekends ago. Uggg.

This weekend is DC Pride and we have friends coming in. I'm excited to have some extra hands around the house to hold Bailey and super excited to get out of the house for the Pride parade. There's nothing like a bunch of campy queens to brighten a person's day!

Gotta run. Gotta shower while Bailey is sleeping...

First Outing

We did it. We took the plunge! Kelly and I left Miss. Bailey for about four hours and went and saw Pirate of the Caribbean. Now, before we get any "I could never do that" comments spoken in snide voices, let me remind our kind readers that we have NO family near us. None. We have some wonderful neighbors who come over for about a half hour at a time to hang out and play with Bailey. Other than that, Momma or Mommy holds Bailey and cares for her constantly. We get no breaks. It's a 24/7 job.

We needed a break. So, we left Bailey with Kelly's boss and his wife. And everything was fine. Kelly and I made it until there was about an hour left of the movie, and then we started to get a little crazy. We did make it through the entire thing, though. We were proud. We raced to their home after and joked about who was going to hold Bailey first! When we arrived she was sound asleep on Kelly's boss's chest. Kelly waited about 10 minutes, but then stole her back.

It was good for us. It was good for Bailey, who slept the entire time and was cuddled continuously by her adoring fans! It was also incredibly tough. Strange how something that I've been doing for 28 years (being without Bailey) can be so hard now that she's here. My arms missed her. My body ached for her. My heart hurt.

But it was still good.

In other news, Bailey is smiling now! She broke out into a super huge grin this morning when I picked her up. She's beginning to coo as well in response to our voices. She loves it when we talk to her. She loves her belly being tickled. She loves naked-girl time.

It's truly amazing these days to be a parent. It's so much easier than it was in the first four weeks. It's taken us up to this point, but I really think we are out of the woods. We've got this figured out...for now!

Laugh or Cry?

Well, I've officially pulled my first all-nighter since college. And let me clarify that in college, I NEVER did the all night thing to study...it was always a partying thing. LOL!

Last night, Bailey didn't sleep. Well, she did for about 45 minutes here and there. Then she would wake up, wanting to be held, fed, changed, cuddled or to just cry for a while. I spent the night in the living room, so that Kelly could get some sleep. She, of course, didn't sleep worried about us in the living room. *sigh*

Currently, Bailey is laying on our bed. She's alternating between crying fits that lack any real energy and silence, which seems to be her trying to fall asleep. I would hold her, except that every time I pick her up, she cries harder and fights me. I assume that this means that she needs to be alone and that she is crying because she's too tired to do anything else. I figure, if nothing else, she's wearing herself out more. I suspect that she'll sleep all day.

I tried to go back to bed with her, but she won't calm down. The later it gets into the day, the less likely it is that I'll sleep. I have this wonderful habit of waking up with the sun, no matter how much I need to keep resting. It's lovely. Especially on days like this.

Tonight is a bottle of wine night, for sure. I only hope the Bailey doesn't spend the entire day crying. But, if so, I'll get through it. Poor girl. She's so tired. Momma is too.