She's just little, I can't help it

I am occasionally filled with an irrational and unreasonable need to diagnose. If I have a rash, I get online and start looking at pictures of rashes. I once diagnosed myself with scabies on my elbow and have also diagnosed a multitude of sniffles, coughs, random aches and pains in this fashion. Lately, I have been using this irrational and unreasonable "skill" on the Animalia. What is that dry patch on her shoulder? It's scabies again. Why has she stopped making consonant sounds in favor of grunts? Autism or hearing loss? Both? Why has she stopped grunting and started doing raspberries again? Autism? Hearing loss? Getting used to chatting with her two new teeth? Is she sweating because she has a fever or because it's 95 degrees outside? Did she spit up because she's reacting to her most recent vaccination or because I put her on her belly after she nursed? Why is she so energetic today? Why is she sleepier the next day? Did she scratch herself on the nose? Did she eat enough today? Is she warm enough? Is she too warm? Panic. Panic. Panic. Why? WHY?! WHY!?

I guess I should stop. She's a healthy, bright, active baby girl. She has done everything on schedule, sometimes ahead of schedule. I am just unreasonable. I. Am. Being. Unreasonable. Repeat three times. There. Is. Nothing. Wrong. I. Am. Being. Unreasonable. Right? Right?!? Crazy mama, coming through!!!

OK, so I'm really not that bad. She's just little. I have to balance the incessant urge to protect her and to scoop her up in my arms and never let her get vaccinated and keep her in the house forever and ever with the part of me that wants her to explore and grow and get dirty and grow a healthy immune system and not be afraid of anything. Crap. Even when I sound less crazy the crazy shines through.

She's the only baby and don't you forget it!

I picked up Animalia from my parents' house yesterday and sat down a bit to chat. My dad was sitting with the Animalia across from me and my mom. Animalia was staring at us. My mom hugged me and petted my head and said "Look, Animalia, this is my baby. Your mama is my baby." And the Animalia made a sad sound and the corners of her mouth turned down in the most perfect frown.

She was fine after my mom stopped teasing her.

It was hilarious.

Baby poop on vacation.

Obvious title.

So while on vacation, the Animalia only pooped twice. I think it was because although she was getting some solids, she was mostly nursing since she was with me all the time. I also have to admit a teeny bit of laziness on my part. I'm already lugging nourishment around, attached to my person.

Anyhow.

One poop happened at Mars' Cheese Castle. This was actually fairly convenient. We were sitting in the bar (OH MY GOD, BABY IN THE BAR!) finishing our delicious beers and food from the deli and she was standing on my lap. She turned around to face me, stuck her butt out and started doing the baby pooping grunting red face thing. With her butt sticking out. It was pretty entertaining. So we paid up and I changed her in the back of the rental car. It was ugly.

The second time was so much more convenient, the mom said sarcastically. It was during takeoff. That's right. Headed back home, the airplane is leaving the ground, and the Animalia starts grunting. My daughter is both convenient and considerate to others, the mom said while rolling her eyes. So yeah. She pooped. And I couldn't do anything about it. She must have gotten all cozy though, right after, because I gave her a pacifier to suck on and she dozed off. She woke up a little after the seatbelt light went off. I started to head to the rear bathroom and a flight attendant told me that there was a changing table in the front. I headed there and wow. Airplane bathroom changing tables are SMALL. But it worked. And her baby poop had a couple of beans in it. From Frontera Grill, the Rick Bayless restaurant. Yum.

Diaper changes on vacation are no picnic. There are TONS of places that don't have changing tables. On the flight there, no one offered the "baby changing table in the front bathroom" advice either. So I balanced her in one arm and changed her standing up. It's really exhausting. I did that in a couple of bathrooms on the trip too, bathrooms where I wouldn't put her on the floor even with a changing pad underneath. I kind of felt like a badass when I changed her midair. Like a very tired badass.

Animalia takes a trip.

So we took the Animalia to Chicago. It was more difficult than traveling alone or with the drunken adults that I'm used to traveling with but not so difficult that I wouldn't do it again. I was a little concerned for her tiny ears on the flights but she was fine, charming even. She chatted and smiled at flight attendants and other passengers, wiggled around, ate and napped. Nice. She was lovely.

There were more tears once we got there though. I think it was because she was in unfamiliar territory and not following her usual patterns of eating, sleeping and playing. That AND she's teething. That's right. No false alarms this time. There are two teeny tiny baby teeth peaking out of her bottom gums. They're cute to look at, interesting to touch and I'm sure they're incredibly painful for her. Pobresita.

She met her Aunt Barbara and cousin Cathy for the very first time. She bonded with Cathy. She also made friends with BL, smiling at her and trying to eat her watch every chance she got.


Other firsts on the trip:

Her first Cubs game. EVERYONE in the bleachers thought she was the most adorable baby ever in her Cubs cheerleader outfit and red legwarmers. There were even some drunk guys sitting behind us who were discussing the best way to smoke in the "no smoking" ballpark and they were trying to decide whether or not to light one up right there. They decided not to. Because of the Animalia.

Her first frijoles. She had her first taste of frijol at Frontera Grill, the Rick Bayless restaurant. What can I say? She's fancy. She liked the beans too.

Her first (brief) visit to a zoo. We took her to Lincoln Park Zoo. It was near closing time so she just got to see a tiger, monkeys, takin, and sea lions. She liked the monkeys and tiger, she chatted and smiled at them. Didn't even notice the takin. She liked the sea lions too, their big bodies swimming by surprised her I think. Now google "takin."

Her first museums. We took her to the Museum of Science and Industry. She was cranky. The Art Institute was better, though she split her time between cranky and chatting at the paintings. We got dirty looks from people either way, whether she laughed or cried, so we left earlier than we wanted to. At first I didn't care what everyone thought but after about 30 dirty looks it starts to get old so we left a little earlier than planned. She loved the Field Museum, I'm not sure why, maybe it was because there were things to touch, it wasn't as loud and insane as Science and Industry, and there were more animal type things. Or maybe it was because her teeth didn't hurt so much.

Her first aquarium. She LOVED this. She loved the turtles, brightly colored fish and dolphins.

Her first trains, both the CTA in Chicago and the small train on the Jelly Belly tour. Two completely different things, I know, but I thought I'd put them both under the same heading.

What else? She mostly just liked walking around, making her happy noises at passers by. She got some things, souvenirs for when she tells us we never take her anywhere and we tell her that she just can't remember when we did. She got to spend time with Tío Tío and crawl around on his floor. She also got to play with a stuffed puppy that he has and try to chew on his (dirty) carpeting.

I think we can do this again sometime too. I hope our future holds a trip to DC to visit the Nina, a potential jaunt to the Cayman Islands to visit begrid, and maybe a weekend in Puerto Peñasco. Now we just have to win the lottery.

See my next post for information on baby poop while on vacation.

"I'm glad you found someone like you."

Coworker: How's Jimmy with the baby?
Me: He's hilarious. He loves being Animalia's dad.
Coworker: Does he play with her?
Me: Yeah. Constantly. He makes her laugh so hard too. Sometimes he puts her on his head, tummy down, and walks around saying "I'm wearing a baby hat" and "Why is that baby on my head?"
Coworker: I'm glad you two are together.

Me too. I can't imagine having a child with anyone else.

High anxiety

We're taking the Animalia on her first plane trip in two days. Actually, her first trip. We're going to Chicago to visit her Da's family and her Tío Tío. I'm a little nervous about how she'll do on the plane but will do my best to convince myself that I'm not nervous so she doesn't get upset. I'm also nervous because our flight is VERY early in the morning and the Animalia usually sleeps til about 7am. She'll be cranky. AND I'm concerned about airport security letting me travel with frozen breastmilk. I'm planning on taking some with us, in case I can't always nurse when she's hungry. How will they react to frozen milk? I've asked my dad to wait at the airport til we get through security just in case. I just don't want to throw out the milk that I worked so hard to save.

Yesterday was spent packing. The Animalia's stuff fills up ONE WHOLE SUITCASE. Her Da and I are sharing a suitcase. How is this possible? We are big people, she is a little person. She has SO MUCH STUFF though. I guess this trip is a rehearsal in a way. Next trip we'll know what we used, what we didn't use, what was insane to pack.

We were able to take a nap though. A family nap. We slept with the Animalia between us and when she woke up she decided that everyone needed to wake up. I woke up first. She was grabbing my face. I sat up and she decided that Da needed to wake up. She wiggled toward him and started sticking her head in his armpit, trying to burrow under his arm. When that didn't work, she started grabbing his face and tugging on whatever hair she could reach. It was hilarious. She didn't stop when he mumbled "good morning" to her. His eyes actually had to be open. Then she stopped. She was satisfied that everyone was awake along with her.

BFF.

The Animalia has found a best friend in our dog. We'll call him CPS. For Cooper Pooper Scooper. We imagine that if he was a boy and in school, the other dog/kids would call him that when mocking him during recess. But anyway. Every time Animalia sees him she just breaks out in a huge grin and starts babbling. Every single time. She can be pitching a huge tantrum and she calms right down when she sees him. It's amazing.

Unfortunately the feeling isn't quite mutual. Not that he's aggressive or anything close to it. He just alternates between indifferent and aloof. She touches him and he turns his head or walks away. I think he's getting better though. The other night he was on his back in front of her and she touched his belly and he made this wiggle like he was getting more comfortable. Maybe he's finally realizing that there's something in it for him.

Big Baba!

So yesterday we had a regular checkup. This is kind of confusing. If you just count the months, she's just over 6 months. If you count the weeks, she's 27 weeks. So 4/weeks per month= nearly 7 months. Anyway, so at 6 months or 27 weeks, she weighs 17.5 lbs and is 27.5 inches long. Her weight is kind of in the middle as far as infant percentiles go. That's where she's been since birth. Not super heavy, not very tiny. Just average. But her length is at the 95th percentile. She's definitely her daddy's girl. And she gained 1/4 inch in her head circumferance for a whopping 16 3/4". Still not the biggest head in the world but not too shabby for a girl that was born with a teeny head like me.

Locomotion. Backward.

So she's pushing herself up onto her hands and knees now. She'll rock back and forth, trying to propel herself forward. Then her little knees slip out from under her as she pushes. And she ends up pushing herself backward. She gets up on her hands and knees again and repeats the process. She ends up pretty far from her starting point but frustrated because she's usually aiming at a toy or two. She'll be crawling forward soon enough.

Tiqui ti, Tiqui tu Two

I wrote about her nicknames and I forgot the one I use the most.

Big Baba.

Yah. My daughter is a big girl. Well, not heavy, just very long. So that's the Big part. The Baba part is drool. She'd been drooling a whole lot during the time I started calling her that. Then she stopped but I just loved seeing her at lunch and saying "Hi Big Baba!!!" and seeing her giggle that it stuck. Now she's drooling like a faucet and the name fits her perfectly again.

Tiqui ti, Tiqui tu

So the Animalia is only six months old and we've already gone through several nicknames.

Not currently in use:
1. Pansa
2. Manzana Pansana
3. Pansona
That's right. Three in a row, all about her tummy. I couldn't help it at the time. She was all skinny legs and arms and beautiful round belly.
4. Princess P'dora
5. Pedorra
6. Gassy Lassie
And those were for her farty stage. She hasn't been lately. Not as much.

Currently in use:
1. Manzana
2. Amalia Bedalia
3. Chiquitina
4. Chachita
5. Tiqui Ti, Tiqui Tu
6. Good Morning Girl

And mostly we just call her by her name. Which she knows. Even though sometimes she ignores us. Or gives us a fake smile and turns away. I think it's genetic.

Did I tell you about Easter?

Ooops. Almost forgot.

So Easter. Animalia's first Easter.

There was a visit to Tía Grande in the morning for brunch. Easter fell on her birthday this year. It was nice and relaxing and Animalia got held by several different people. She did well, no major freakouts but she would complain loudly when someone else was holding her and she could see me across the room. It took me forever to even get a chance to eat. No matter though, she was really excellent. And she looked adorable in a sundress and short sleeved cardigan.

Then we went home for a bit. Relaxed. Dressed the Animalia in a lovely pink cotton dress. Had to have the costume change-- she has like a million dresses that need wearing in the next couple of months.

Went to Tío's house. First time we've been there in a while. It was my Tata's house before. Animalia got STUFF. She had an Easter basket, courtesy of me, a Hello Kitty head wearing a bunny hat, filled with NO GRASS, a baby's first Easter rattle, a large and useful bib with Easter eggs printed all over it and a book that has spaces for pictures. I think it's called "Who loves baby?" I can't seem to find the bib now and the Who Loves Baby still has no pictures in it. We try. She also got an easter basket with a bunny from a Tía and a teeny tiny handmade basket and a fluffy teddy bear from an Aunty. She was poked, prodded, and tickled by cousins. Pictures were taken. We went home and before we could strip her down to a onesie, held a mini Easter photo shoot. Must get those pictures off the memory card and somewhere where people can see them.

What can I say? Everyone loves Animalia.

Chatty Patty

So I think I've mentioned it more than once but the Animalia is CHATTY. She spends a significant part of every day squealing, cooing, making chatty sounds, complaining and laughing. She can be very very loud or whisper something very softly.

My current obsession is her first word. I mentioned a little before but lately she's been saying Dah a whole lot and sometimes it seems like she's calling him that, other times she seems like she's calling everyone and everything Dah. Hard to tell. Another thing she's started to say is "a-ta." She said it a couple of times to my dad, her tata. He's definitely one of her favorite people so this would make sense as a first word.

She's definitely understanding a whole lot too. She giggles at the right times, acts cute when she's trying to impress (at the doctor's office, with some strangers), talks to the dog. And when I say "Dame las manitas" she gives me her hands. Cute.