Five Months is Really Too Early For This

I walked in the house yesterday afternoon after work and Jenny was holding Baby Brigid Girl and Margaret and Patricia were hooting it up wildly, yelling for me to come in and see this. I came in and saw it. Baby B. crawled a few feet, stopped, swiveled her hips and sat with a perfectly straight back on her own hind end with no tri-pod support from her hands. She's sitting on her own. From there, she can twist herself into the position to take off once again in a crawl and then head out. She did it over and over, so this was no fluke. Jenny said she walked in and found her yesterday sitting up in the crib after a nap (of all of 20 minutes). Jenny said she thought it might be one of those brief moments before slumping over, so she walked by but when she returned a minute later, BB was still sitting there, looking pretty self-satisfied. She's just too darn young to be doing this stuff.

On the other hand, the bedroom move continues to be a challenge. We're on Day Three of Mommy and Daddy Held Hostage. BB just does not want to go down to sleep for the night in her crib. Of course, the boob isn't readily available to her when she rolls over in the crib, either. Last night she slept happily between Daddy and Mommy, crumbling on and off enough to make Mommy feed her so Mommy could get some sleep. What a racket. If I thought all I had to do to get some food shoved at me was grumble and roll around a lot, I'd have done that years ago. But Jenny has had luck with putting her down to sleep for a nap in the afternoon in the crib, even if it's only 20 min. at a time. For the time being, I think I'm just too lazy to be firmer.

We're on vacation after I get out of work on Friday so Jack and I head up to the lake with BB. Margaret and Patricia are there already, having headed up after dinner with Grandma and Granddad Downs last night. When they're at the lake, Grandma keeps them on a pretty rigid schedule: up in time to have breakfast, then out to the riding ring for a lesson, Then lunch, maybe swimming after. Of course, now that it's August, it's getting cold. I'm afraid the summer is waning. I saw leaves had changed on trees today. Ugh. So much for the dog days of summer. Tomorrow morning, the college president hosts his annual welcome breakfast (donuts and coffe) for the faculty because classes start on the 28th. We used to get a real breakfast, but this is the state and what with budget problems, eggs and bagels are too pricy. I think we get donut holes now. Jack says I'm just a whinny state bureaucrat. Maybe so, but what does it say about your worth when you go from hot eggs and bacon to cold, stale donut holes?

The Incredible Non-sleeping Baby

Contrary to the popularly held biological notion that all living things need to rest in order to regenerate, Baby Brigid Girl can sustain life on 23 minutes of sleep in a 24-hour period. She is, in fact, a cyborg and although I have yet to find her on-off switch or her adaptor port that would allow me to plug her in for a re-charge, I am convinced she has some kind of solar panel that allows her to spontaneously regenerate, thereby negating the need for sleep. Or at least sleep in her own bed.

We're at Day 2 in our new bedroom downstairs and Brigid does not like it one bit. She'll fall asleep nursing, and I make a successful transfer to the crib only to have her pop up like toast a second later, screaming her head off. Last night, she also showed us she has a temper. Her crying was more of a "I'm not getting my way here! This is not allowed!" kind of scream. Ooh, she was mad. But because I need some sleep, I brought her back to bed and she fell into a happy, contented queen-of-the-hill sleep. I know all about Ferber-izing and Baby Whisperering. I'm hoping this is just a matter of getting used to the new digs and the expanse of crib. Maybe crib bumpers would make her feel a little more closed in and secure...She seems to do well in the co-sleeper and that's probably because she's close by and enclosed. Hmmm, it's a thought. And at the very least, it would muffle those cries.....

She had a hard time with Jenny yesterday afternoon, too, as she fought sleep. Her best times are mornings and any time after she's had some sleep. But poor Jenny gets the brunt of it when BB is at her worst without a nap. It's not that she's a fussbudget for no reason. The solution is simple: all she has to do is sleep. At five months, what could possible be so exciting or ever-changing that she would miss in a forty-five-minute nap?

We're hoping Patricia gets to meet her teacher, Mr. Fortin, today. He was supposedly there this morning, but it turns out that he wasn't. But he was given the message that Patricia would like to meet him and we hope he gives a call this afternoon. Meanwhile, I have yet to be able to set up something with the guidance counselor at Stafford for Margaret to meet ahead of her orientation. I hope that happens for her to alleviate her apprehensions.

Jenny, meanwhile, is hoping to get into the city school or Beekmantown school districts for teaching, which would mean we'd lose our beloved babysitter. But she has to do what is right for her career. She's 27 and still sitting for us. We found her when Margaret was about 4 months and she's been with us on and off ever since. We love our Jenny. Her niece, Sabrina, calls her Nenny, and we've come up with a slogan, "Everybody needs a Nenny." We do, indeed.

She Liked the Other View Better

We moved our room downstairs yesterday and spent a very fitful first night there. We have the crib set up there for now until we dismantle the computer/sewing room and turn it into Brigid's room, and until last night she had been spending her nights in the co-sleeper, at least at first, and I think the expanse of the crib, the strangeness of the surroundings and the sounds from the road may have contributed to BB's antsyness. She was restless all night, and that made it a difficult night of non-sleep for all of us. The upside to this new arrangement is that Patricia and Margaret will get to keep their own rooms and not have to bunk in together; the downside is that Patricia and Margaret will get to keep their own rooms and not have to bunk in together -- they'll be upstairs on their own. We'll see how it works out. As for Baby B., she'll just have to get used to the view through the bars, or we'll have to get used to a whole lot of sleepless nights.

BB had a good day otherwise, spending time with Jenny and the girls before Mommy came home from work. Her crawling is slow and plodding, but she's doing it. Gone are the days you could place her in the center of the living room and return to find her in relatively the same place. She's a' movin' and a' groovin' and seems to be pretty self-satisfied with herself over the whole thing. She's also starting to reach up when you hold your arms out to her to pick her up. And, in case there was any question in anyone's mind that we have the smartest baby in the world, I asked her yesterday "where's the kitty?" and she turned deliberately and looked at Grey, who was lying on the floor in the living room a few feet away. She's fascinated by him and has been trying to make contact at every chance. Grey, on the other hand, isn't interested so much in having his tail grabbed as he is in rubbing by her and sticking his behind in her face as he turns away from her. Baby Brigid remains non-plussed and finds a rear end as engaging as the front end.

Patricia continues to be excited by the prospect of life at Oak Street School, but her excitement hides an inner turmoil. She's already worrying about what to wear on the first day of school and it's two weeks away. She's also worried that her teacher, Mr. Fortin, will be strict or stern -- her words. I fear quite the opposite as Patricia has a way of wrapping her teachers around her little finger. And with her drama queen skills, Mr. Fortin will be awe struck since he's heavily involved in musical theater.

Margaret seems less obsessed with the start of school. I think having Josh there will make a huge difference.
We're still trying to arrange to have the girls visit their schools and meet teachers ahead of time. Meanwhile, classes start at the college on Aug. 28. Where did the summer go? We'll be on vacation that week, but with appointments and orientation and such, we'll be bouncing around a lot between home and the lake I'm sure. It will be nice to have that time before school starts to spend with the girls. I can't help mourn the fact that they won't be returning to St. Peter's, but I take some comfort in knowing that no one else will be, either.

She's Getting a Little Long in the Tooth

Saturday, Aug. 19 was a hallmark day in the life of Brigid Baby Girl. With very little fanfare and attention, BB not only took her first real crawl, the hand-knee, hand-knee combination so crucial in forward locomotion, but also sprouted her first tooth -- her lower front right -- all in one day. We marked the occasion with a cheer as she slowly moved her way across the living room floor at camp. She seemed pretty satisfied with her accomplishment and has been making her way all over the place ever since. Slowly, to be sure, but she knows now that slow and steady wins the race hands down. At five months, one week, Brigid wins the title of the Downs Girls Derby in earliest crawling. Margaret clocked in at just over six months; Patricia clocked in at five and a half months. In tooth eruption, she places second, after Margaret (at four months) but before Patricia, at about eight months. We're all so pleased and proud. ;)

I think BB is sleeping better, now that the tooth has poked through. For the last couple of weeks, she has had a bad time of it, and I'm pretty sure that's why. She's also been drowning in her own spit. But I'm afraid with 21 teeth to go, she'll have a lot more choking before her work is through. She is still sleeping in the co-sleeper but we're getting ready to move our bedroom downstairs and with that move she'll also move to the crib. Now that she's crawling, pulling herself up can't be far behind and she'll topple out of the co-sleeper if she were to pull herself up in that. Jack set the crib up the other day, and I've actually gotten her to take a couple naps in it, and she's been in there to play a little, kind of like acclimating your puppy to his crate.

BB is also beginning to pay more attention to what we are putting into our mouths, and I'm reluctant to acknowledge that she might be longing for a little solid food -- rice cereal for instance. But so far, she is thriving and doing well on breastmilk alone, and I don't want to move her from that exclusively until absolutely necessary. But, unlike the other girls, who were content to nurse exclusively until they were 8, 9 or even 10 months old as in the case with Patricia, Brigid may well trod her own path to solid culinary delights. We'll see how many times she can slap our forks out of our hands before we cry "uncle!"

The other two Downs Girls are gearing up for school and are even excited at the prospect of attending the public school for the first time in their lives. Patricia wants to go to Oak Street School to meet her teacher before the start of the school year, and Margaret wants to go to the middle school to meet with her guidance counselor before their orientation on the 30th. I hope we can work both visits in. I think it would go a long way to smooth the transition. The biggest challenge has been finding clothes for the girls that are modest enough, attractive enough and cool enough without making them look like tarts. Of course, they've worn uniforms until now, so this whole school-shopping thing is new to them. I remember the anticipation I felt every year at this time when we'd all get a day to go shopping for a few new outfits, shoes, sneakers and supplies. There's a line from "You've Got Mail" I've always liked: "Don't you just love New York in the fall? It makes you want to go out and buy school supplies. I'd buy you a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils." I hope to do one more school-shopping trip with the girls soon, maybe to Burlington. You can never have too many sharpened pencils.

Give Her and Inch and She Takes a Foot

Brigid Baby Girl has been getting the knee action down for crawling. Last night she spent a good portion of her floor time moving her knees back and forth, almost like she was revving up to go. She just needs the arms to move in conjunction and she'll be off. And she laughs, like she gets the joke. "I'm too young to be crawling, but just try to stop me! AHAHAHAHA (evil sounding laughter)." I pulled out the Fisher Price Busy Box yesterday and that seemed to attract her attention for a while. She even figured out how to do the whirly gig on it. I am also convinced that her unsettled behavior of late may be her teeth. Jenny, our beloved babysitter since the time when Margaret was four months old, concurrs, saying Brigid's behavior when she's been given the bottle in my absence has been antsy. She wants to chew on the thing, but pulls it out violently only to want to thrust it back in again and again. Teething. My breast heaves at the thought.....

Had lunch with Auntie Shell today to catch up since we've both been on vacation and out of contact. She picked up a few cute polo-style dresses for the Baby B. and some ultra cute sneaks for next season for her Goddaughter from the Children's Place store when they were on vacation in Maine. She spoils the Baby B. and me, that's for sure. I'll have to learn how to post pictures to this thing so you can all see how cute she is going to look in her polo dress.

Jack spent the morning with BB, who he said was in a good mood and didn't even ask for the bottle until noon. Of course, I stocked her up pretty well from the boob before heading off to work, so she must have been pretty full. He set up the crib, so we'll be putting her down to sleep for the first time in the crib very soon. The Co-sleeper has been working out very well. I'm so appreciative to Aunt Kristin and Uncle Matt for that gift. It is just what I wanted and knew it would be what we needed. Brigid could easily stay in it a few more months, but as soon as she starts pulling herself up to her knees or feet, then we would have to put her in the crib anyway, so we'll be doing that soon.

Tomorrow (Thursday) the girls and I will head south to do some shopping and spend some quality "girl time" together. I can't wait. The girls have returned home from the lake. I haven't seen them since Friday. I've been missing my big girls. I'm looking forward to getting home and giving them some big hugs.

Baby B. and the All Night Buffet

Brigid has decided lately, after turning 5 months on the 12th of August, that nursing all night is more enjoyable than sleeping. She's been out of sorts lately and I'm wondering if she's going through a growth spurt or if she is just being selfish and obstinate in her attempts to keep her mom from getting some sleep. She may just need to re-fuel after spending most of her days on her hands in knees in preparation for crawling, which could happen at any minute. She certainly is putting a lot of effort into being an early crawler, that's for sure. A lot of people have commented that she looks like big sister, Patricia, and if she takes after her sister in more ways than looks, she may follow in Patricia's foot, er, knee steps because Patricia was an early crawler and walker. Margaret got the crawling down in November, putting her at a little over six months; Patricia was crawling at five and a half months.

Both Patricia and Margaret have been spending more time at the lake this summer with Grandma and Granddad Downs. Like summer camp without the lean-tos and bugs. They're at the lake now, and I'm missing them. We're going to have a girls-only day on Thursday, going to Glens Falls for school shopping. Jack said that's fine with him. He's rather spend the early part of the day going to the dump.

Brigid Baby Girl Tries to Take Off

At nearly five months you would think Brigid would be satisfied to lay around and observe her world, with perhaps a roll or two thrown in for good measure. But she has never been one to lay around. Even in utero Brigid was an active child. So, two weeks ago she decided it was time to get up on her hands and knees and rock in preparation for crawling. She's always been an oocher, which as anyone will tell you translates to moving all over the place as soon as your back is turned. But now she's combining ooching with rocking, rolling and general thrusting forward as she plans her moves. So it won't be long now, unfortunately. My Baby Girl is growing all too fast.

She's had somme fussy nights, too. Beware of prideful boasting when it comes to how well baby sleeps through the night because that will be moot as soon as the words are out of your mouth. Several weeks ago, Brigid began waking fitfully throughout the night and I haven't had a solid block of sleep since. While she began sleeping through at about seven weeks, she's been having a hard time for the last month. I don't know if it's a prolonged growth spurt or just a habit she's developed because of nursing, but she's not showing any signs of going back to the preferred sleep pattern. But you know, I often say who cares? Every day is one day I'll never see again as she grows a day older, and in a few years, I'll look back and say "Oh, I miss those days..." It's an opportunity for me to snuggle that downy head, to kiss her soft cheeks and hold her close.

Margaret and Patricia are getting used to being big sisters with each passing day. Brigid is becoming part of their fiber. They can't go long without getting a dose of their Baby B. Patricia is mindful of Margaret "hogging the baby." When either one of them is gone for more than a day or so, visiting Grandma and Granddad at the lake for instance, they return with a need to hold her and kiss her. Baby B. is no doubt one massively loved baby.