The Girls

I had visions of slide shows of our trip, and nice long winded descriptions of our days in CA, but then life hits, and instead of spending minutes in front of the computer, we're busy feeding her cereal, and buying a different car.

There are plenty o' pictures to come, but my idea of posting everyday is unrealistic.

beach baby

Christy, Cecilia and I at La Jolla beach

Sleeping Beauty

We're back, and we had an incredible time in southern California. The weather was great, Cecilia was great, hanging out with Christy was great, the food great, flowers great, margarita and creme brulee martini both great.

I think I'll try to do a picture a day until I run out of pictures (or realistically until I run out of time.) Christy took this picture on Friday afternoon. We shopped and had lunch and saw seals in La Jolla. We walked around all afternoon. Cecilia rode in the front carrier for about 5 hours, minus the hour lunch. By about 4 p.m. she pooped out and became really heavy, so we called the hotel shuttle and went back to our room. This picture is so cute. I think it could be a "snugli" advertisement.

Adios Muchachos

Christy, Cecilia and I fly out today at 4 p.m. I have a lot of nervous energy this morning. I have a lot to organize and pack. There's so much stuff to take with. Maybe I have too much time to get ready this morning.

Thanks for all the nursing advice. I think I'll be o.k. nursing on the plane, and I think I can give her a bottle here and there and then pump later if need be. I think Amanda is right in that maybe thinking about it is worse than actually doing it. Plus, like Natalie said, it's California, and they won't care out there. Plus, if someone catches a glimpse of my boob, it's not like I'm going to see them again anyway. Before I had Cecilia I was that person that kind of freaked out when I saw a woman breast feeding in public, so that mentality is still with me today. Even if I feel a little bit more comfortable breast feeding out and about (not sure I do), but even if I did, there's still a part of the population who does not feel comfortable with it, and that is very real to me.

The good news is that we have made major progress in sleeping at night. Friday night we went to bed at 9:15 p.m., she woke up at 3:30 a.m. to eat, and then not again until 7:30 a.m. Saturday night she slept from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., Sunday night, and last night she slept straight through from 9ish to 5 a.m. It's amazing what a decent night sleep can do for your energy level, and morale. I planned to work more with her after we got home, and start solid food, but she kind of did it on her own, with our help trying to keep her awake more during the day. I'm so glad we didn't have to "Ferberize" her, or let her "cry it out." I'm expecting our trip to mess with her schedule a little, but I think (and hope and pray) that it can only get better from here.

So, if you would...
Cross your fingers, say a prayer, cross your eyes, send me good vibes, that...
American airlines does not cancel more flights
Cecilia doesn't mind flying too much and doesn't scream the entire flight
They don't lose my luggage like last year
Going through security isn't too bad
The weather is nice out there
All the reservations for the car and hotel that I made online work
and anything else you can think of

I'll be back to the blogging world on Sunday, with pictures of a baby at the Pacific Ocean.

I've Got a Rock and Roll Heart

John has learned to play the bass guitar because some members of the faculty have put together a band for the talent show.

He's so right for me.

Mom and Dad

Here's a few more from the baby book. The top one is Dad and I in the kitchen at the farm. Check out his hair and mustache. The bottom one is me and Mom on my baptism day. I was baptized in the farm house.

Lately I've Been Thinking... A Remedy is What I'm Seeking

I had a lunch meeting today at the Midway, and I brought Cecilia with me. She goes everywhere with me. She was real good in the meeting that lasted from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. I fed her a bottle around 1 p.m., but it was only 3 ounces instead of the normal 4 ounces that she usually eats (drinks.) So, at 1:30p.m. I leave the Midway and head to St. Louis to run a bunch of errands for the winery. She starts to cry at about Bloomsdale, and is really screaming by the time I get to Hwy 61, right before Festus. I decide to pull over and climb in the backseat and feed her. Her food is portable, right(?), that's supposed to be one of the best things about breastfeeding. She usually does 4 minutes on the starting side, I burp her, then another 5 minutes on that same side, then burp again, then 5 minutes on the other side. I pull off the highway, climb in the back seat, take her out of the car seat, and start on the left side. She does her 4 minutes, then I burp her. I have the car running, air conditioning on, and the radio on, and the song, "You're going To Miss This" by Trace Adkins comes on....

Five years later
There's a plumber
Working on the water heater
Dogs barking, phones ringing
One kids crying, one kids screaming
She keeps apologizing
He says "They don't bother me.
I've got two babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
It's hard to believe..."

But
You're going to miss this
You're going to want this back
You're going to wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're going to miss this
You're going to miss this
Yeah you're going to miss this

Cecilia and I have a moment, breastfeeding in the backseat of my yellow car, on the side of Highway 55. My phone rings while I am burping her, and it's one of the girls from the meeting. She says she just passed a yellow car on the side of the highway and wanted to know if it was me, and if I am o.k. I lie and tell her that I thought I left my cell phone at the Midway, but she helped me find it by calling, so everything is o.k. I go back to put Cecilia again on the left side, when I see flashing lights in the rear view mirror. I turn to my left to look out the window, and a police man is there, and as soon as I see him, he covers his eyes and face and turns back toward his car. I get startled, probably jump or gasp (I am the world's best gasp-er) (I get that from my mom), I hurry up and cover my boob, and look back at the police man and try to tell him everything is o.k. He looks embarrassed (and righfully so) I give him a thumbs up and he goes on his way. Cecilia by then is freaked out because I freaked out and she starts crying, screaming in fact. She kind of has this delayed reaction when something scares her (like John's sneezes) and then she just wails. I am instead, laughing. I get her calmed down, change her diaper, but can't get her to eat anymore; she's too distracted, or off kilter still. I put her back in the car seat, and she's fine. I get back on the highway, and she starts to scream again. She screams all the way to Richardson Road, where I get off the highway, and go to the McDonald's parking lot to try to calm her down. When I get off the highway, she starts to calm down, and by the time I get out of the car and look at her, she smiles at me. I'm too exhausted and she's too unpredictable at this point to run errands, so we go home, where she cries some more. Good times.

My question is:

Next week Cecilia, my sister Christy, and I are going to California for another wine judging and a couple days in San Diego, and I'm asking all my fellow breastfeeding friends if they have any advice for breastfeeding on the run. I'm not comfortable whatsoever about breastfeeding in public, and I've rented an SUV to maybe get a little privacy, but all of my breastfeeding up until today has happened in the confines of someone's (mostly my) home. Any advice on how to breastfeed without going back to the hotel every three hours?

I'd also like to tell Christy that this is unusual behaivor, and not to worry about our trip. =) Also- happy early birthday. =)

Professional

We had a professional photographer come to the house and take some pictures of Cecilia last month. She was happy for the white dress, and the naked pictures, but by the time I wanted to put her in the red dress, she had had enough. I thought for the most part they turned out real well.

My New Favorite Picture

I found my baby book yesterday in my Dad's house. It was temporarily misplaced, and I was so happy to find it. I knew my mom kept good records of things that really mean a lot to me now, like when I first rolled over, and when I got my first tooth. It's all there, just like I remembered. It's hard to look at the book, because it's evident my mom worked hard to write everything down, and she wrote a nice letter to me/about me in the inside cover.

This is a picture of me at three months old, and it makes me emotional to look at it. I think Cecilia looks real similar right now to this picture. It just reminds me of how hard we tried to get pregnant, and now I feel so accomplished. Remember that scene in Castaway when Tom Hanks builds the fire, and he says something like, "Look! I have FIRE!" I feel just like that. "Look! We have a baby! We have reproduced!" The circle of life continues, and I didn't think that meant too much to me until now.

Now I just have to ask John's parents for baby pictures of him.

Imagine Me and You

There's very few pictures of me and the baby, since I am usually behind the camera, but Sara took this one of me and her and I thought it looked nice.

Here's a video of Cecilia smiling and talking to a toy. She likes soft toys she can get in her mouth. She babbles a lot now, too, and she "talks" to the toys, which is so funny.

TGIF

Holy Schmoly these weeks are long when you tote around a baby everywhere you go. I just put two beers in the freezer though, and we're going to have a relaxing evening tonight - for sure.

We've been working really hard to keep her awake during the day in order to get some sleep at night. I have woken her from many naps this week, which somehow seems so wrong. We spend so much time trying to get her to go to sleep, that waking her seems like we're sending mixed messages. We have (hopefully) successfully moved her bedtime from midnight to 11 p.m. Wednesday night I think I got pretty close to 7 hours of sleep in a row, and that just seemed so invigorating. Last night was pretty close to the same; right around 6 hours of sleep. I fed her at 10 p.m., held her until she fell asleep at 11 p.m., and we woke at 5 a.m. with the alarm. That is a whole heck of a lot better than the 4 and a half hours of sleep I got Monday night, when she fell asleep at midnight and then wanted to eat again at 3:30 a.m.

Taking her to work is challenging. I feel like I'm working in cut time. Yesterday she went to the accountant's office with Dad and I, last week she went with me on a sales call to the Casey's in Ste. Gen, and tomorrow she's going with me to meet a church group of 55 people at the winery. I can't imagine leaving her with a stranger, though. At the beginning she was awake one hour and then slept two. Now's she's awake a good hour and a half at a time, sometimes 2 hours, with maybe an hour nap. With the help of Amanda and her hand-me-down bouncy seat and exersaucer, I am still able to do work.

She's asleep now; she sleeps good in the car seat and I just got home from work. I should wake her, but this is only the second time I have had free time all week, and the other time I used it to take a hot bath and read What To Expect The First Year. It's amazing how much energy and thought goes into raising a 3 month old. And although I try hard to not sound like that annoying mom, "she really is worth it." (gag.)

From the very first time I rest my eyes on you, girl, my heart says follow through.

I took some pictures the other day with Cecilia on a couple quilts she got as presents, so I could give the women who made the quilts a copy of the picture. This is a Noah's Ark quilt made by one of the ladies in Ste. Gen. It's a beautiful quilt, and I'm scared to use it because it is so nice.

She's kind of too little for the exersaucer, but we have put her in it a time or two. She can't really reach the toys, and she's mostly just interested in chewing on her hands.

Lots of pictures to share; not enough time to share them. Check back soon for more Cecilia fun.

p.s. I have my pre-pregnancy jeans on today. They are snug, but they are on. WooHoo!