Smile! and snow

We really didn't do much today. Madeline woke up early and ate quite a bit, then went back down. When we were all finally, truly up, energy abounded. Madeline did a lot of staring and also said things like "nguh" and "waahhg."

And she smiled.

Then when energy began to wane, Madeline took a nap on grandma.

Grandpa stopped over to peek at sleeping baby.

We thought about taking a walk, but it was not to be. Once Madeline was in the wrap, she woke and immediately took to smacking her lips and lapping the air with her tongue. Subtle cues. Summer provided for her.

As it turned out, at that same moment the sky started to drip. Then the rain was heavy enough that the water off the roof sounded like someone had left the kitchen sink running. And later on it turned to snow. Which actually accumulated in the yard. Time passed with the help of food and drink.

After dinner, Madeline slept on Summer.

And then fed again. And again. And again. Another growth spurt?

Meeting grandpa

This morning I told Madeline that she was going to meet her grandpa today. She responded with an open-mouthed, ear-to-ear smile. I said, "Yeah, we're going to have fun!" She produced another smile.

And have fun we did. Somehow most of today's Madeline pictures show her sleeping; in reality, she slept for probably a grand total of only half an hour today (and does not want to go down now). She mostly passed from person to person, looking interested, often happy, and almost always very much awake.

Here, though, is a deceptive sleep picture.

In her brief moment of sleep this morning, she rested her hand on mine; I took pictures to show the size disparity.

Beginning around noon, we talked about taking a walk. Beginning around noon, Madeline declared her strong desire to feed for the next five hours. So it wasn't until I was on my way back from Boston with a grandpa just in from Oregon that baby, mama, and grandma got out for a stroll.

Here's a deceptive sleep picture from said stroll.

In reality, from what I'm told, as soon as the female folk reached Seven Stars bakery, Madeline announced it was unfair that they should eat and she be left to starve. I'm a little murky on what happened next, save that there was supposedly quite a bit of fussing. We beat them home and they seemed glad to join us.

Then Madeline got to meet her grandpa, and she gave him a bright-eyed, wide-mouthed grin just like she'd practiced this morning.

Growing

In case you were skeptical about the extent of the Sprout's growth, we present to you the following evidence.

Physical growth aside, today involved multiple milestones. But before any of those arose, I took a few hours' leave for work/eating-related purposes. The female folk held down the home fort admirably.

When I returned, the Sprout said she wanted to eat forever. A couple of hours later, we said she'd have to put her eternal feed on hold for a bit so we could walk to Wayland Square.

Getting the Sprout used to the stroller now seems likely to produce future benefits, so we strapped her in for a test run. She seemed uncertain but willing to give it a go.

Given her apparent willingness, we zipped her into her polar bear suit and re-strapped her into the stroller. And it wasn't too long before the stroller wheels were acquainted with the oh-so-familiar Angell Street sidewalks. The Sprout waved hello.

We stopped first at CVS, but the Sprout and I fled when she said in her inimitable way that she'd rather be elsewhere. It turned out that where she really wanted to be was anyplace she could feed comfortably.

That place ended up being L'Artisan Cafe. Our visit there led to the Sprout's most public yet (if still quite discreet) feeding. The rest of us joined her, having wraps and drinks.

The Sprout seemed content but then shouted some on the walk home. So Summer squeezed in another feeding before undertaking her most significant Sprout-less outing yet, meeting friends for dessert in honor of a 30th birthday.

The Sprout protested.

Her grandma and I tried to calm her, but she said she'd rather just scream until her mother returned to provide a proper feeding. Little things worked for short times. The gas game, for example.

Also somewhat helpful: another turn in the wrap on the stationary bike, a stuffed Very Hungry Caterpillar, dancing with grandma and me to Raffi. At one point the Sprout even took 2½ ounces from a bottle. But each of these ended in cries for her mother.

Who returned. Bearing gifts.

So the Sprout was sated, and grandma and I were, too.

Happy and sleepy

Summer had a productive morning, but for the rest of us the day didn't really begin until she brought us back donuts after her outing. Before that there were only blear, pajamas, coffee, and a mostly sleepy Madeline. Even once the donuts arrived, grandma's attention remained on the sacked-out Sproutling in her arms.

But the influx of sugar into the room must have woken Madeline. She and Summer played two breathing games: the original imitative one, and a new one where Summer blows on Madeline's face and Madeline sharply and happily inhales with a squeak.

In fact, Madeline seemed to do most things happily today. Her smiles are ever less transient, too. We came closer than usual to capturing the elusive big-smile.

We'll probably get it soon!

Eventually, we all determined that our sugar-and-caffeine intake would have to be supplemented with actual sustenance. Sun and sandwiches beckoned, so we walked up the Boulevard to Three Sisters. Madeline started the walk wide-eyed and seemingly drinking in details, but fell asleep after five minutes or so. The world is maybe even more overwhelming when you're able to start taking it in in earnest.

We stopped at Lippitt Memorial Park for a few pictures, both posed ...

... and spontaneously admiring Madeline.

At Three Sisters, staff and patrons seemed charmed by Madeline; she was called a doll. One fellow mom stopped to talk shop with Summer. We then settled in and talked amongst ourselves. Madeline stirred once, necessitating removal from her wrap to stave off a cry. But she lazed then in the crook of my left arm.

So we enjoyed a peaceful stopover at a pleasant coffee shop and ate delicious sandwiches as Madeline remained cooperatively conked.

We walked home via Hope, always a good way to stoke optimism. Such a happy baby doesn't hurt the good spirits, either.

Peaceful day

Today was a peaceful day. We decked Madeline out in a dress and tights, anticipating possible outings and photo shoots. Plus she had to look her finest for grandma.

As usual, Madeline spent her morning gazing lovingly at her mother ...

... and feeding.

Around midday, I made brunch as Madeline entertained mother and grandma. When the meal was ready, Madeline slept very happily by the table.

She even looked happy as she seemed to be waking up.

But the wakeup was a false alarm. Petey came by to check Madeline out and ended up sleeping in a neighboring sunspot.

For most of the afternoon, all were content to bask in the loving circle of granddaughter/daughter, mother/daughter, and mother/grandmother. As dusk drew near, though, a few moments in the sun seemed necessary. We braved the chill for a jaunt through the neighborhood.

When we got back, Madeline rested in the wrap for a bit before agitating for release. We played, making faces and moving arms and legs around, e.g., as baby held my thumbs.

Then she truly achieved release, necessitating full changes of clothes for us both.

The one thing lacking on this peaceful Sunday was a granddaughter/grandmother photo shoot. Perhaps that will be remedied tomorrow.

Grandma comes to town

This morning we all only very gradually acknowledged the onset of day. Summer was the first to embrace awakeness with a shower; Madeline and I slept in.

Once we were up, I took leave of my wife and daughter to attend an admitted students' luncheon at my law school, in my capacity as an extremely honored and distinguished and generally very, very impressive alumnus.

Back at home, Summer had spent much of the luncheon feeding Madeline, with a solid interval of baby-wearing housework. But Madeline was still hungry. We decided that this would be the time to introduce baby to bottle. Summer prepped a pumped-milk beverage and reluctantly headed out as I nervously arranged Madeline and milk and phone -- the last in case of non-bottle-taking baby-rage requiring direct maternal intervention.

As it turned out, Madeline's hunger is all-conquering. She took and drained the bottle, seemingly filling herself and also spilling some of its contents on us both. I called Summer to tell her the news. As soon as Summer had returned, Madeline was ready for more.

Madeline's fist says: "Yeah! I can and will eat anything you throw at me!"

But taking the bottle wasn't Madeline's only milestone of the day. Next up was a trek to Boston to meet, finally, the Allen grandma, flying in from Oregon. Madeline seemed up for the voyage.

But she once again displayed her hatred of Massachusetts, borne out by stopped traffic (SCREAM) and rampant potholes (SCREAM).

When we got to the airport, Madeline was quiet. If Target is overwhelming, Logan is on another level entirely. Parking garages. Moving walkways. Escalators. Baggage claims. People, people, people. It's easy to feel small and lost.

But she was calmed by a discreet airport feed, happy to meet grandma!, and then treated to another discreet airport feed to stave off any return-trip SCREAMing.

That last one didn't work. SCREAM.

But back at home all was well again. There were smiles all around.

Excited baby is finally down and out for the night. We're near sleep ourselves. And more excitement is sure to follow tomorrow.

The hunger of the Sprout

Today had two themes: the socialization and hunger of the Sprout. To start off, though, here's the daily picture of the Sprout looking delightedly at her mother/feeder-in-chief.

I'll skip over the slow-paced morning and get right to the first event, which combined the themes of socializing and feeding the Sprout: Summer and Sprout's first La Leche League meeting at the Rochambeau Library. Feeding's been going fine, as pictures and measurements can attest, but a friend's been asking Summer to attend with her. Socialization with other moms and babies is good, too. And I trundled along to do some work in my favorite corner of the library.

This time, Summer wore the Sprout.

(Recall that, though the very modern vertical sign above reads Providence Public Library, Rochambeau is no longer actually a branch of that institution. Also recall the recent and pleasant addition of the vibrant Hope Street sculptures.)

We enjoyed our time at the library and then walked with our friend until she had a right turn to take and we a left. The Sprout met lots of people, and by those reports I've heard she was very good. Apparently people think she's little! We're not convinced.

Perhaps spurred by the suggestion that she's small, the Sprout wanted to feed for almost the whole rest of the day. A brief moment of separation allowed me to get this, the aftermath of an enormous smile that I was too slow to snap.

Small? I'm not so sure.

The day was capped off with a visit from friend Julia, who held a calm and happy Sprout and helped us consume delicious junk food. The Sprout got into the spirit of the feeding frenzy, too, and ate and ate until she nodded off only recently.

Tomorrow there will be still more socialization, as the Sprout gets to meet the Allen grandma! Undoubtedly there will be plenty of feeding, too.

Twist and shout

Two days of mostly smiles were great; today, though, Madeline was fussy again. She provided lots of shouts and flails. But even fussy days have their loving mother-daughter looks.

There were a lot more uncertain, vaguely distressed looks, though.

The reason for that particular uncertain, vaguely distressed look quickly became clear, as Madeline blew through her diaper, her outfit, and my clothes too. After she'd been changed and I'd showered, she was still unhappy. Something had to be done!

The only thing that seemed to calm her was having her tucked in the wrap as I ran laps around the apartment. In order to cut down on the hazards of this soothing method -- trampling Summer or tripping over Petey, e.g. -- I hopped on the (stationary) bike. The pedaling motion rocked my torso enough to put her to sleep; it also made pictures blurry.

When I stopped pedaling, she woke up and started to fret. Unable to find a way to calm her this time, we had to resort to the strip-it-down-and-start-over technique.

As it turned out, this was exactly what she wanted. Even with snow falling outside and a bit of chill inside, her fleece sleeper was too warm. Her newfound, nearly naked calm didn't last either, though: next came fussing, then feeding, and only then was she sleepy enough to get dressed and tucked back into the wrap for an evening walk. The snow was gone, and seems to be done.

Tonight suggested that perhaps all the day's fussiness was a device to fool us. Normally Madeline falls asleep in one of our arms before we set her gently in her co-sleeper; otherwise, she squirms audibly and sometimes shouts. But tonight after I'd changed her diaper and clothes, swaddled her, and sung her half a verse, I set a still-awake Madeline in the co-sleeper and out she went. Just like that.

Another happy day

It was another happy day for baby.

She played games with Summer.

She looked up at me triumphantly after she finally nabbed that pesky camera wrist-strap.

She looked up at Summer with an adorable mix of happiness and suspicion, as if to say, "You're hiding something infinitely interesting and fun from me, right there, aren't you?"

She also napped with our doula, Sev, while we took brief leave of baby together for the very first time. Our walk was very baby-themed, though -- we even ran into friend Annika, who had her baby boy the same day as Summer, with the same midwife too.

After a full morning, we braved the snow (!) for a trip to East Greenwich. Healthy Babies, Happy Moms is there: they're the people in Rhode Island for all your lactation-related needs. While tucked into one of their cozy rooms, we had the opportunity to weigh baby. She's now 11 lbs: our growth spurt suspicions are confirmed.

We transacted our business -- soon I'll be able to try giving baby a bottle! -- and proceeded to another East Greenwich hot spot, Felicia's Coffee.

Baby was calm for a bit and drew some approving glances, not least her mother's ...

... but the experience ended before all the consumables were consumed. Another parking lot feeding commenced instead.

One can't blame baby for her feeding needs. After all, she's doing exactly what she ought: getting bigger like gangbusters (another double-digit percentage growth in only a week!). So we happily tolerate dreary-weather parking lot feedings in exchange for a healthy, happy, smiling baby. And today she provided plenty of healthy, happy, and smiling baby.

Calm and Happy

Today the Sprout was calm and happy. Her timing was perfect, as we'd run out of most food and didn't want to order in dinner for the fourth night in a row. Grocery shopping is much harder when your choice is either to bring an angry baby to the store with you or to leave her at home with a helpless spouse. We faced no such dilemma today.

We set out for the grocery store but needed breakfast first. So we got tasty drinks and foods -- coffee and a Kim's Good Idea for me -- from the Edge. The Sprout was well-behaved. She did shout once, but Summer soothed her quickly. And another baby there also had a brief fit, which is always reassuring.

At East Side Market, today was senior discount day, so the Sprout had a ready-made admiring audience. She was mostly tucked into her wrap, sleeping, but had her customary fingers resting on the wrap's edge. These provoked exclamations of adorability. One woman told us she had wanted half a dozen kids but only had one; she told us, "Don't listen to anyone!" but also that we should split the difference, more or less, and "just have three."

Back at home, the Sprout remained mostly calm and happy, alternating between periods of intense awakeness ...

... and deep sleep.

She continued to smile readily. The character and quantity of smiles and smile-types seem to be growing.

One other notable development today: Petey seems to have at worst decided to tolerate the Sprout for now or at best accepted the Sprout into the family. While I had the Sprout tucked into the crook of my left arm, Petey jumped onto my lap with great purpose. I rubbed his cheeks while the Sprout gently but repeatedly kicked him in the side.

He seemed happy. She wasn't sure what to make of things.

One last note: as you can probably tell from some of the pictures above, the Sprout's hair was spiky and messy and almost mohawkish today. We enjoyed that.

Short post

There's not much to say about today. Sleep debts caused us to stay in bed until midday, when I snuck the Sprout away so Summer could try to get an uninterrupted hour. The Sprout obliged with a brief nap in another otherwise high-energy day. But she seems to be fully back to her good-natured self; instead of shouts and squirms, we saw a lot of this:

Granted, though, that the above picture was an unusual moment of stillness. Mostly the Sprout continued looking around and lunging at interesting things. And there was plenty of finger-figuring and proto-language noise-making. And feeding. Definitely feeding.

In the evening, we gave the Sprout a bath. She was very concerned ...

... but she made it out ok, and clean at that. Now she's asleep. Summer, too. I'll likely commence reading and see how long it takes me to follow the rest of the family.