The Long and Winding Road

After my semester abroad in Rome, I stayed an extra two weeks to explore more of Europe. My friend and I made plans to visit Germany, Austria and Prague but when those plans fell through (long story), we joined up with another friend and her mother, who were going to rent a car and drive down to Sicily and explore other parts of Italy. As we drove through the tiny towns of southern Italy, I was constantly amazed and impressed by Mrs. Jones' fearlessness when driving around on the tiny curvy streets of Italy. I didn't think I could ever do it myself.

But after driving around on these roads for the last two years...



...there's no road I can't handle.

Lately, I've found myself taking a shortcut through these tiny roads just for the fun of it. I'm going to miss some of the crazy streets of Seoul when we return to America.

Baby for Sale

Most days, I face the challenges of having a baby who doesn't like to sleep with equanimity and perspective. Some days its a real challenge. Some days, you just want to give your baby away to the highest bidder.

Like today, for instance.

Zara went to bed at 8:30 last night and woke up every two hours wanting more food or comfort. By 5:30 a.m., she decided it was time to wake up and play. I tried desperately to get her to go back to sleep and for awhile, she let me just hold her while I drifted in and out of a semi-awake state before she grew tired and wriggled and waggled until she'd wrested her little body free of my arms. I finally being conscious enough to realize that her diaper was soaked so I stumbled into the nursery and with great wailing and gnashing of teeth managed to get a new diaper securely fastened over her cute behind. I did not, however, have the presence of mind or fortitude to snap her pajamas closed.

Despite my pleas and promises that I'd buy her a pony, Zara would not return to sleep. I set her in her crib and returned to the bed, hoping to get a little more sleep on my own, but Zara's ear-splitting shrieks prevented any more sleep from occurring. But after ten minutes of crying, Zara was now sufficiently worn out that she fell back into a fitful sleep in my arms and I retreated back to the bed for a little more shut-eye, Zara passed out on my chest.

I woke 45 minutes later to the feel of something wet near my hand only to discover that Zara had managed to pull her diaper off and was sitting, bare bummed and pleased as punch, in an ever spreading pool of pee, munching on the corner of my phone.

So, resigning myself to a sleepless fate, I cleaned that baby off, secured a new diaper over her nefarious bottom, and went about changing the sheets. The whole time I was secretly contemplating the benefits of selling off my child--she's pretty cute, I bet someone would pay good money for her, right?--and wondering why I was crazy enough to think I wanted MORE kids. But as I was holding Zara in my arms, she turned to me and gave me the biggest innocent baby smile, complete with two newly emerging bottom teeth and I realized that I'd just have to keep her after all. She's way too cute to let go.

But next time, I make no promises.

Trouble, with a Capital Z

My father-in-law has nicknames for all his children and grandchildren and he never, not once, calls his children by their actual name. Now, these names are all strange and bizarre with no connection whatsoever to the person's real name and they all have convoluted backstories or obscure pop cultural references. David's name is Ug. No really. He could tell you why, but I don't remember. Upon her birth, Zara was dubbed Zoomy. I guess my father-in-law just had a hunch, a feeling, that the name would fit. All I can say is that the man must be prophetic because this girl....? Does not sit still.



She's trouble. Big, big trouble. She's always moving, always on the go. She wants to kick, kick, kick or climb up on everything or grab everything or crawl everywhere.

She wants to touch everything, eat everything, see everything but she'd much rather do it standing up, if you please. Never mind that your pants are falling down because she won't stop grabbing onto them.

I'm afraid she's going to climb right out of crib one of these days or finally figure out how to scale a bookshelf. I've already had to snatch her away from the cat food more times than I care to admit and found her munching on unmentionable things. Building up a good, strong immune system, I hope?


Yes, this baby girl o' mine is trouble. Big, big trouble.


Help.

6 months and a week

A lot changes in a week when you've got a baby. You know?

Zara had her six month check-up today. She took the shots like a champ and the doctor declared her the best baby he'd ever seen. Not really. I'm just making it up. But he totally could have been thinking it.

Her new stats:

Height - 27.7 inches (95%)
Weight - 18.2 pounds (83%)
Head circumference - 16.9 inches (59%)

I don't think Zara gained as much weight this month because she was sick. I also noticed that my milk seems to be different. I thawed out some milk I froze back in December and I noticed that my milk now looks less creamy? It's like I was making 2% and now I'm only making skim. I guess my body knows how to regulate itself. Zara doesn't need to get all her nutrients from me since she's started to eat solids.

Anyway. A week. Man, it's been a week. In the last week Zara has -

- gone from army crawling to crawling on her hands and knees



- mastered sitting up unassisted

- figured out how to pull herself into a standing position (generally by holding onto a table, chair, or our hands for support)

- played the piano



- grew one whole tooth (I know she's growing more, but her first one just finally broke through the gum)

- rolled off the bed AGAIN (bad mom! you'd think I'd have learned....)

- started producing more...um... solid waste as a result of her new diet of solid foods

So yes. A lot changes in a week. I've got to keep an ever watchful eye on my bambina. I should never have encouraged her to roll over so soon. It's a slippery slope, I tell ya.

In other news, my friend told me that Zara reminds her of babies in old photos with her curly hair and rosy cheeks. A vintage baby, she called her. I think that's the best compliment I've ever gotten about my baby. She's a classic. She'll never go out of style.

But I bet vintage babies didn't pull everything out of their mother's purses in order to find the tube of lotion to chew on.

But then again, I bet vintage moms didn't leave their purses on the floor within easy reach of their babies.

Oh well. You live and learn.

Yoga for Babies

Downward facing dog, anyone?

Forgive the nakedness. That's just how we roll.

Zara at Six Months!

At every stage of Zara's life, someone has always told me that that age was their favorite. They'd say things like "Four months is magical!" "I love my babies at nine months." "Six months is the best!" Well I'm here to tell you that five months? Not my favorite. Oh, my baby is still the cutest baby ever and I love her a whole big bunch but between her being an early crawler, catching a cold, teething, and her sudden hatred of being put down and having her diaper changed, it's been a looong month. So welcome month seven! I hope I will like you more. And in other news, how is my baby half a year old? Insanity.

Here she is in her adorableness. I'm lucky that I caught this photograph this month because a) I deigned to put her on the ground b) she was on her back which she suddenly detests, and c) she was crying. Her outfit is cute though, right? There's a little red sweater that goes with it but since I can't remember the last time I stepped foot outside our apartment, the sweater is really superfluous.

General Observations, Physical Changes, Etc.

Zara is a big girl for her age. Her six month check-up is next week so I don't have her official stats yet, but she has consistently been above the 90% for weight and height. But she's not a chunky baby. Oh her thighs have many rolls which I love, but she really seems to be thinning out.

Zara has been in 6-9/6-12 month clothes for the last month and a half. The few 3-6 month clothes she still did manage to fit in (like pajamas) are now way too small. I need to get her more pajamas. I love footie pajamas but she seems to grow out of those so fast since she's so long.

I can't keep shoes or socks on this girl's feet so I don't buy very many for her. (But then again, I hate them too.) I did buy one really cute pair of black slippers with a polka-dot ruffle to wear with her church outfits but one shoe has gone missing. I think it got left at church but we've scoured the building looking for it, to no avail. I think the Koreans are hiding it.

Zara can grab items--both big and small--with her hands and fingers and can move objects from one hand to another.

Zara loves to smile and laugh. Just about anyone can get her to smile by smiling at her, but laughing requires a little more skill and I'm getting really good at getting lots of adorable baby giggles out of her.

Zara babbles and coos and occasionally it does sound like she's stringing together consonants and vowels but there's nothing consistent.

Zara and I have both had a cold for the last week. I can now officially saw that she hates having her nose wiped. Luckily, the cold has been very mild but it's been accompanied by a cough which I don't like.

Though Zara has been rolling, moving, and crawling for the last two months, I think she's frustrated by her lack of mobility and gets fussy after only a brief time spent on the floor. She used to be content playing for quite some time but, at least for the last two weeks, she's spent a lot of time here:

She used to hate the Moby wrap (and I find it really annoying most days from a mechanical aspect) but she seems to enjoy it now. I just ordered an Ergo carrier and I'm super excited to see if I like it better. In any case, she's too big for the Bjorn now and I don't find the Moby very practical or comfortable to wear outside the house on longer errands.

Zara has exhibited many signs of teething but none have shown up yet. I'm okay with that. I shudder to think of what breastfeeding will be like when my babes has teeth with which to bite me.

Eating and Sleeping Habits

My baby likes her milk. She doesn't care much for rice cereal though she will eat it but I think more of it gets on her bib than down her throat. She's also added sweet potatoes and bananas to her solid foods list. She seems to enjoy bananas but she kept sticking her tongue out every time I put sweet potatoes in her mouth. I'm looking forward to introducing more fruits and vegetables to her this month.
Sweet potato face.

Zara's sleep habits are an ever-changing mystery to me. Just when I think I've finally figured her out, it all changes again.

Since we've been sick the last week, Zara has been taking a 1-2 hour nap (on me or in the Moby) about two hours after she wakes up and another 1-2 nap (again on me or in the Moby) around 2 or 3. I generally join her for the second nap but since I'm starting to feel much better, I probably won't do that as much. Plus, I'm pretty sure this semi-consistency will completely change next week.

After fretting and stressing over how to get our baby to sleep, David finally told me, "You are her mother. What do YOU think SHE needs?" And with that, I decided to ignore all those books that tell me I shouldn't rock my baby to sleep, that I shouldn't let her nurse to sleep, and that I should just let her cry herself to sleep. Because I hate listening to her sad, sad cries as she bangs her head against the side of her crib. I just can't do it. There are gentler ways to help guide Zara to sleep and I'll continue to use those methods until I feel they are no longer needed. Yes, I may be resigning myself to years of rocking my baby to sleep but since she's my first, and I have the time and the inclination, we'll just see how it all works out. She's a pretty smart cookie, I think she'll figure out how to sleep on her own once she understands what it means and how to do it.

The getting Zara to sleep part actually isn't the tricky part. It's the getting her to STAY asleep when you try to put her down that requires a perfect combination of timing, proper hand placement, and flexibility. I literally have to bend over with Zara as I gently lay her in her crib and slowly remove my hands. Many nights, I have to try two or three times until I get it right and she stays asleep.

I do sometimes put her down for her afternoon nap in her crib and let her cry herself to sleep. But she never sleeps as long in her crib as she does when she sleeps on me.

Accomplishments and Firsts

Ate sweet potatoes and bananas for the first time.

Proficient army crawler. She's been moving in her own fashion for two months now, but it's only been in the last two weeks that she has learned how to coordinate her movements with purpose and direction. When she sees something she wants, she's one determined young lady and will plow through all toys and obstacles in order to reach her goal. Mostly, this means the computer cord which has me constantly keeping on eye on her.

Zara, sadly, also had her first real accident. She rolled off our bed two weeks ago. Aside from a small bruise on her forehead (which is already gone), she was fine. It was a more traumatic experience for me.


Zara has gotten much better at sitting up unassisted. She tends to fall over after a few minutes but I think she'll get much better at it soon.

Baby's favorite toys, places to go, etc.

One of Zara's favorite toys is a soft "Animal Countdown" book I bought for her. Each of the animals attaches with velcro and she loves pulling them off and eating them. Her favorite are the one giraffe and two kangaroos but she's been visiting the three dolphins and four elephants more frequently lately. I try to keep her away from the nine birds and ten fishes because they are pretty small and the seven chicken because it's just bad grammar. The book was made in the Philippines, after all.

I picked up this used walker for Zara because I thought she might enjoy it since she dislikes being on the floor so much lately. But she doesn't seem to care for it much either. Well, she's happy in there for about 15 minutes and then she wants out. She can only move backward so far which I think might be part of the problem.


David likes to play with Zara's squishy rubber blocks and Zara likes to play with Daddy, even when Daddy wants to build ON her.

Here are some of my other favorite photos from this past month:





This is my new favorite photo of Zara. Those eyes! Those lips! Who knew I could make such a beautiful baby?