Mommy Bootcamp

Since the excuse, "I just had a baby," doesn't last forever, I decided it was time to start working out again. Now, to be honest, I am probably close to my pre-baby weight, but I'm still about 15-20 pounds away from my pre-England weight (thank you Carling beer and Bangers & Mash). Dave and I occasionally go on walks with Izzy (and now Paige), but that is about the most strenuous activity that I have completed in the past year. So I decided to dive in headfirst to working out again by signing up for Mommy Bootcamp. I was feeling pretty confident when I walked into the Dulles Sportsplex because I used to do workout classes all the time. Seriously, I thought to myself, what can two pregnant lady instructors do that will be so difficult...

I made it about 10 minutes before I wanted to collapse.

Paige was supposed to be my partner in this workout routine by crying when I needed a break, because that's the only reason I could stop without getting yelled at by an instructor. Of course, my "partner" slept more soundly during that hour than she ever has. Rarely do I wish for Paige to cry, but this was one of those moments that I would have done anything to get her to scream. No such luck.

Will I go back? Absolutely. I find that I'm much better at working out if I have a set class to attend where someone will yell at me if I slack off. Without that, I am very good at finding excuses to either not go or to do the minimum. I do hope that Paige will learn that she needs to rescue me occasionally, but maybe she's just trying to help me get back into shape...

How is Izzy Doing?

Since we brought Paige home from the hospital we have had many inquiries as to how Izzy is handling the new addition. I suppose the best way to answer that question is that she is doing pretty well. She has enjoyed our home "remodel" (we didn't really remodel, baby crap has simply exploded in every room, to Izzy it seems as though we remodeled) and also appears to like all the brightly colored things that dangle and swing and play music that have become predominant in every room. She seems to appreciate our rare walks and trips to the dog park a little more than she did before she was second fiddle. A few months ago Izzy expected these things, but now she gets really excited when we say "want to go on a waaaalk?" in our higher-than-normal pitched voice that we use when we talk to Izzy. She is disappointed that we got rid of her leash that extends and got her a 5 footer (easier to use with the stroller), but she still likes her walks.

Those of you that know Izzy also know that Izzy has a blue blanket that she loves and carries everywhere she goes. Well, a few months before Paige was born, her blanket was in shreds (too many games of tug-of-war with Yogi), and she was down to a piece about the size of a washcloth. Pop (Izzy's grandad?) came to her rescue with another full-sized blue blanket for her to drag around our house. It was like the present that you get an older child when a new baby comes into the house. This blanket has become a nice little security blanket for Izzy and she definitely lugs it around more now that she gets less attention from us. Her blanket must come into our bed every night now, and then comes back downstairs with her every morning. I should probably wash her blue blanket more often than I do, but it is hard to get the blue blanket from Izzy long enough to wash it.

All in all Izzy is doing very well with Paige. She doesn't acknowledge her very much, but when she does, it is mostly to give her kisses. We initally tried to stop Izzy from licking the baby on the face, but realized very quickly that it was a lost cause. Paige doesn't seem any worse for the wear due to Izzy's face lickings, so we've given up on that one. I see it as the beginning to a great friendship.

Paige Snores

Puggles Like Pacifiers Also

This week I have really perfected the art of talking to myself, the dog and a baby that communicates through a variety of different cries. Dave had to go to San Diego for work, which left me home with Paige, Izzy and Burrito. Surprisingly, the only casualty of the week was a pacifier that Izzy decided to chew up while I was showering. The current theory is that Izzy sees how much attention Paige gets, and Paige seems to always have a pacifier in her mouth, so Izzy thought that she should have the pacifier in her mouth which would then mean she'd get some attention like Paige does. Truthfully though, her thought process was probably something more along the lines of, "that looks chewy and smells like that thing that I lick all the time (aka Paige)."

Last night we had a nice thunderstorm and Izzy really could have used a pacifier. Apparently howling at thunder is her new thing. She even tried snuggling up to Paige on the bed for comfort at one point because she was so freaked out. My decision to run downstairs and get the camera (leaving Paige on the bed with the dog) is probably not going to win me any Parent of the Year awards, but the picture is at least adorable (unfortunately the camera did not capture the moment when Izzy put her paw in Paige's hand, but I at least got the picture that I did).

Dave returns from San Diego tomorrow, then also leaves again tomorrow for his NASCAR race weekend in the Poconos. I'm sure I'll begin talking to inanimate objects at some point this weekend, but hopefully my sanity will return with Dave when he returns on Sunday night.

Bathtime Fun

Paige had her first bath the other day. It had been about 3 weeks since her last bath (she's 3 weeks old), so we figured it was about time. Plus we had just gotten a new baby tub and loads of baby bath accessories, so this bath was more for us than for Paige.

All said and done it was fairly uneventful. There was some crying and protesting at first, but I quickly calmed down after Molly told me Paige was the one getting the bath. She actually did pretty well, although I suppose it's just a bath and the bar is set pretty low. Still, we were proud of our little girl and consider this small success a big accomplishment. Paige is clean, we got to use our new bath toys, and we're one experience closer to becoming pros at this whole parenting thing. Plus, we were able to take lots of naked baby pictures to use as blackmail for those teenage years.

During her bath I noticed something odd about the way I was acting. Apparently when I talk to a baby (which is odd enough in itself) I feel the need to ask really obvious questions and repeat myself. A lot. I will also answer for her any question I ask. Then I will repeat that. So I'll sound something like this:

"Are you taking a bath? Huh? Are you taking a bath? Yeah, you're taking a bath, aren't you?"

With each repeating quesion I raise the pitch of my voice. I do not know why.

If Paige can understand what I'm saying, she must think she has a lunatic for a father. While this may in fact be true, I'd like my lunacy to be based on something a little more interesting than a tendency to repeat stupid questions and answer them. Something like buying a new power mower to cut less than 0.04 acres of grass for example.

Pictures have been updated...

http://picasaweb.google.com/mollyuva/May2009

Paige Pokes Herself in the Eye

Maybe switching to formula wasn't the best idea.

Advice

Ok, so we have officially survived two weeks with Paige (and somehow she has survived two weeks with us). While I would love to report that we have been "naturals" at this whole parenting thing, that is just not entirely the case. Luckily we haven't had any life threatening issues, just a few smaller glitches. Paige, however, doesn't seem to notice our inexperience and continues to be a happy little baby.

While we received a lot of advice during my pregnancy, here are a few things that we wish someone had told us before Paige was born:

1. Know how to fold up the stroller before you are in a crowded parking lot and someone is waiting for your parking spot with their blinker on. The pressure may cause you to shove the open stroller in the back of the car.

2. Sterilize the pacifiers before you NEED them. Screaming babies actually make water boil slower.

3. When installing the car seat and using the indicator on the side of the seat to determine if the seat is at the proper angle, make sure your parking spot is not on an incline.

4. If you leave the house with the baby, even if it is just to run to the bank really quickly, take the diaper bag. Babies know when you are unprepared and they will poop the second you do not have a diaper at the ready.

5. Speaking of diapers: always, always have a clean one on the ready when changing a baby. Air apparently causes babies to relieve themselves. Dirty diaper out, clean diaper in...one movement.

And for those of you that just come here to see pictures, here are some new ones: http://picasaweb.google.com/mollyuva/May2009