Inevitably Keely

Zoe trading card: Because what else am I going to do at this hour? We've been up for three hours now.

In the interest of complete honesty, I'm going to come clean. Zoe has not slept through the night for the last six days. Nope. Not once. Apparently, if you take my baby on a weekend out of town you're going to totally screw with her schedule and screw yourself in the process. I'm stumped. And exhausted. And looking back at that post where I talked about our schedule with a little bit of nostalgia for the good ol' days and a little bit of contempt. And now for somne live blogging: Zoe and I are sitting out in the living room right this very moment. We've been out here for thirty minutes so far and I imagine we'll be here for at least another hour or so. She's slipping in and out of sleep. She has it made: mama's lap, binkie, some laptop mood lighting. She just spit her binkie out and is still sleeping... looks like I might be able to go to bed sooner than I thought. She is adorable, you know, She just smiled in her sleep. Oh! And she's awake again. Da...

I took Zoe for her two month check up yesterday morning. She did great during the exam; cooing and smiling. Her doc says she's a healthy baby. She also said Zoe was "huge" the instant she walked into the room, which sort of bugged me. The pediatrician has a way of making things sound negative when they're not. I end up getting paranoid and asking if I'm doing something wrong and then she back pedals and says everything is fine. She says Zoe is in the top 75 percentile for weight and length - and we're not feeding her too much. She's a good size for her age and she's growing at a good rate. Yay us! Birth weight/length - 8lbs 5ozs./ 19 inches Last month - 10lbs 5ozs./ 21 inches Today - 12lbs 3ozs./ 23 inches That was the easy part. It was not easy watching Zoe get her shots. It was really hard holding Zoe's legs down while the nurse poked her. Our baby has some strong legs and she likes to kick; add being poked four times with needles and you have on...

Today you are two months and two days old. I had planned on writing this to you two days ago, but lately time has a way of getting away from me. Something to do with taking care of a baby, I think. It’s funny because from November 2005 to your birthday, time seemed to go a little bit slower. Your dad and I had a wonderful time together, (most definitely) but those nine months of trying to conceive and then those nine and a half months we waited for your arrival seemed to go at a snails pace sometimes. I worried we would never get to have you and then when we were told you were on your way, May 25th (your due date) couldn’t come quick enough. We wanted you to be healthy and happy, and we were so excited to meet you and hold you in our arms. Every day since you were born has been an adventure. Your dad and I were in awe of this little person we’d created. We were shocked when people would say how big you were (8lbs, 5ozs.) because you looked so fragile and tiny to us – our little one. At...

We got the sunglasses as a gift at our baby shower and I'd been holding off on using them (and I sort of forgot about them) until I saw the ADORABLE pics Torrie took of Willa. My camera phone is lousy (oh, iPhone how I covet thee) but this pic is so cute I had to share. I took it on the way out the door to meet Daniel for lunch and run errands. We went to Target and Zoe smiled and laughed at me while I pushed her in the cart while I made faces and talked to her. Cuteness overload. She's got her parents wrapped around her finger.

To answer Victoria's question, Zoe pretty much eats and sleeps when she wants to, but we have tried to follow somewhat of a routine. When Zoe wakes up in the morning she gets her diaper changed right away. We go straight from the bedroom to the living room and sit down for her morning feeding. Usually, the first feeding wears her out and she fights off sleep until she's out again (swaddling helps this along). If I'm lucky, she'll take her morning nap until about 11am and I have some time to either make up for lost sleep time or sit in front of my computer. Morning nap is followed by another diaper change and we dress her for the day. No more swaddling, her arms and legs are free to kick and push and explore. We typically do "lunch" and then she spends time "talking", smiling, laughing, posing for the camera, and staring at lights or at the sunlight from the window. She likes to look at me very seriously when I'm trying to make her laugh and she g...

THIS is my amazing SLEEPING daughter who slept through the night all week long! Last night she slept from 10:30pm until 8am! Tell me that is not the most amazing thing ever. Go ahead, tell me. I won't believe you.

A while ago, some readers asked that I post my list for what I brought to the hospital for my inducement/ Zoe's birth. It's been 7 weeks, but I figured I'd post it now since some of the bloggers I read are working on their own lists. The list is right off my Word program. I was super organized. I printed up the list like, a month before my due date and highlighted the heck out of it. I also updated it to show that I'd purchased and packed items and then reprinted it. It was sort of ridiculous, actually. Hey, I like being organized and when everything feels so topsy turvy that last month of pregnancy it's kind of nice to feel in control of things. I was induced on Monday, May 21st and Zoe was born via C-section at 12:18am on Wednesday, May 23rd. We got to check out of the hospital Thursday (the 24th) evening. I've added some notes in italics to show what was truly useful and not - because I'm obsessed like that want to help future mom's out there. What t...

Guess who’s baby slept through the ENTIRE night! Our’s did! * Yeah, I pretty much did a happy dance when the husband and I woke up before the little one. I even had time to sit and have a bowl of cereal and juice before she woke up and needed a diaper change. Daniel dealt with diaper duty so I could eat. It’s been so long since I’ve had a bowl of cereal – it requires two hands and usually one is holding the kiddo. So, I finish my cereal and juice and go to see Zoe and her dad in our bedroom. I congratulate her on sleeping through the night and promise her her favorite meal: milk. And that’s when Daniel starts singing: “Don’t you wish your baby was cute like me?” I love him. Today is going to be a good day (except I have an Ob/GYN check up. Not as much fun when you’re not pregnant.). Zoe is sleeping again after having breakfast and even though she’s on my lap, I’m managing to blog. I’m actually typing with both hands, which doesn’t really get to happen anymore. I guess that’s why I’ve b...

When Daniel and I first met sleep was less important. We were doing shows and then going out afterwards with the casts. Daniel would need to be at work early in the morning, but it didn’t stop us from staying up late at night – talking, reading, surfing the internet, watching movies, etc. We were young then. With the arrival of Zoe, we value sleep more now than ever before. The little one takes a lot of energy out of us. So much so that it is a great accomplishment to be in bed at 9:30 pm and have our daughter sound asleep. I find myself crossing my fingers that she'll sleep three hours straight. Sunday night we got to sleep from 9:30 to 3:30 and I was overjoyed. Six hours of uninterrupted sleep! It was amazing! So amazing that we made it a point to be in bed at 9:30 last night too. Fast forward. I hear a faint knocking. The dogs are barking a little. I nudge Daniel and tell him I hear knocking. He’s so sleepy he’s practically sleep talking – but he tells me it’s the bed. I wonder ...