Stories

It seems that not a day goes by that Will and I don't look at each other and raise an eyebrow over something new Anna is doing or saying. She's growing SO fast now, not only physically, but socially and mentally, in very noticeable ways.

While the most notable recent milestone is probably the fact that she is walking (more on that soon), I thought I'd share a few stories that have made us chuckle lately.

Anna really likes the playground. Always has, since we started taking her last spring to use the baby swings. Now, we've progressed to the slides and climbing on things, although often Anna just likes to toddle around and watch the big kids run and jump. A few weeks ago, Anna and I were out running errands one day after work. We happened to park in front of a school playlot while we ran in to pick something up. When we came back out, I dumped the stuff in the back of the car, and proceeded to buckle Anna into her carseat. She let out one sharp yell, and started pointing over my shoulder to something behind me. I turned to look, and saw nothing. Trying to go about the business of getting Anna in the car, she started really crying, and kept pointing out of the car. When I finally realized the playlot was in sight, I asked her if she wanted to play. Not only did she stop crying, she started kicking her legs excitedly and smiling. So I gave in, and we played on the playground -- I think there are probably worse things that spending 20 minutes on the playground on a Tuesday afternoon. And, while part of me thought it was just a fluke that day, it's happened a few times since then, so I know it's not. So maybe now we should upgrade "likes the playground" to "loves the playground".

Anna also really loves to take Eve on walks. A more accurate description would probably be that she loves to go with us when we walk Eve. It has become part of our daily routine -- Anna and I come home from work/daycare, settle in, and take Eve out. Anna always kicks her feet excitedly and starts laughing when she sees me get Eve's leash out and we head for the door. Yesterday, we were running a little off our normal schedule, and Will got home at the same time as us. I thought, great, he can take Eve out while I stay with Anna, it'll be so much easier than juggling both of them. Anna apparently didn't think that was such a great idea...when she saw Will head for the door without her, she started crying and crawled after him. So the four of us (Will, Eve, Anna, and I) all went for a walk!

Anna's a total bookworm. She will go to her toybox, pull out one of her favorites, and bring it to us to read to her. She likes to turn the pages herself, and many of our books have flaps that she likes to lift herself to see the pictures underneath. I think she's memorized the stories/pictures by now, but she still seems to enjoy them. Each night, we read her two books, and she cries everytime we close the second one -- she'd MUCH rather read her books than go to bed!

Anna's been saying "bye bye" for a couple of weeks now. She does the cutest little wave and a quiet "buh-bye"...and she does it about 9 times to say goodbye to someone...so, maybe that's an exaggeration, but she repeats it many times!

There are so many fun and cute stories to share, I hope to share more soon. Until then...buh-bye.

9 months!

Hard to believe, but Anna is 9 months old today! I know I sound old myself when I say time flies, but, really, there's no other way to put it....these last 9 months have gone by soooo fast (too fast, really)! Anna's 9 month dr's appt isn't for another week, so I'll share stats at that point; for now, here's what the lil snickerdoodle is up to!

9 months is an incredibly fun age, at least when you are blessed with the smiley happy baby we are. Anna has been pulling herself up for the past 2+ weeks, and is now eagerly working on walking. Her half-crawl/half-walk movement, combined with walking along the furniture, get her everywhere she wants to go, for now. We're spending alot of time following her around the house -- I wouldn't say "chasing" just yet, since she's not too fast, but I know those days are just around the corner. For now, it's following behind to make sure she doesn't stick her pudgy little fingers into something dangerous or pull something down on top of herself. Keeps us busy, as well as entertained!

Anna is also starting to really express her interests and desires. She has a couple of favorite books that she likes to read over, and over, and over....and she's often perfectly happy playing by herself and pulling her toys out of her toy box, one at a time. Or, if that's not an option, pulling clean laundry out of the laundry basket is an enjoyable substitute. Until recently, it seemed as if Anna liked any and all food you would offer her, but I think we've finally run into a few that she's not so fond of. I'm still trying to convince her cauliflower and broccoli are tasty (?), but usually have to resort to some trickery for her to open her mouth for either.

Most notably, Anna has learned to roar like a lion, and recognize the lion in her books and music -- her dad is SO proud (if you ask him about it, I'm sure he'll let you listen to the recording on his cell phone). Really, it's a skill all 9 month olds should have, right? It IS just about the most adorable thing ever, and never fails to cheer her up.

Personally, I'm quite proud of her recent ability to "kiss". Not quite a kiss, but a super cute fish face that sounds like a kiss.

Hopefully I'll get both on video to share soon -- in the meantime, you'll just have to take my word that it will make you melt.

A late 4 month update, and a few of Anna's favorite things

Things around here have been pretty hectic the last few weeks, but I'm finally getting around to sharing Anna's 4 month stats. Anna weighed in at 13 pounds, 8 ounces and 24 inches last week -- putting her right at the 50th percentile for both weight and length. I suppose you could call that "average", although I, of course, think she's much better than average!


Anna has started rolling over, although she's not doing it often...she seems to really like lying on her side, so her motivation to roll all the way over is lacking. She's also VERY talkative -- rumor has it she takes after Will in taht regard.


A few pictures of her other favorite pasttimes....


Reading lots of books with mom and dad:

Laughing, especially at silly songs and noises:

Doing "crunches" by pulling herself up on anything she can reach:

Grabbing at her toys, especially the frog on her bouncy chair that plays a song when you pull the handle -- she's definitely learned that when she pulls it, the song plays, and we are hearing that particular song ALOT lately...

One step at a time

Sometimes I think about what Anna will be like as she grows up. What kind of person - toddler, adolescent, teenager, adult - will she be?

This weekend Traci & I took Anna to visit her great-grandparents (my paternal grandparents) in Virginia for the first time. On our flight home, we encountered a group of high school girls travelling back from D.C. to Chicago. The girls, all students at a local Catholic high school, had been to D.C. to participate in a pro-life march (evident by their matching sweatshirts). As they boarded the plane, they yammered & laughed like high school girls do. They shared gum & lip gloss, complimented each others' Uggs, and discussed the answers to problem number 89 from the weekend's math homework. Well, "they" did all of this with the exception of one girl. As they clammered onto the plane, one lone girl settled into a row by herself, against the window, while the other twelve girls crammed themselves together into four rows, three deep. As the plane pulled away from the gate and the girls fell into their conversations about all their high school dramas, the lone girl looked away & wiped her cheek. I looked away & wondered if she was drying a tear.

But, what does all of this have to do with Anna. Seeing this lone girl made me wonder ... will Anna be that girl? What if Anna is the fat girl with braces that the other kids make fun? What if Anna is the awkward girl with glasses & acne that no one talks to? What if Anna is that girl? If Anna were that girl, I hope that Traci & I are smart enough to realize and wise enough to instill in her the strength to hold on to her confidence.

What if, though, Anna is one of the other girls who makes fun of the fat girl or doesn't talk to the awkward girl? Then what? Oh, boy. One step at a time. Maybe I should just focus on the perfect four month old who's learning to roll over, blow spit bubbles, and developing an appreciation for board books at bedtime.

Two Month Update

Today marks Anna's two-month birthday (hard to believe, isn't it?), so it seems appropriate to share some of the things she has learned over the last two months, along with a few her parents have learned as well.

Anna's controlling her head really well these days -- she'll hold it up for full minutes at a time, looking from side to side or just gazing at the object in front of her. She's really close to rolling over from tummy to back -- I am expecting that any day now, if she can keep from getting herself frustrated. She's also started pulling her legs up under her when she lies on her tummy and then trying to push herself off, which looks like the early steps towards crawling.

Anna's also becoming REALLY vocal. Sounds like we might have a chatty little girl on our hands. She likes to hold "conversations" with me and Will, responding when we talk to her, laughing at us, and maintaining eye contact. She tracks both toys and people with her eyes, and is starting to reach and grab for toys.

My little baby doesn't like to be held like a little baby anymore. Unless she's really tired, she doesn't like to be cradled, but would rather sit on my lap facing out into the room, or up on a shoulder where she can see everything behind me. She's definitely soaking up the world around her and loving it all.

Will and I have learned approximately 142 different techniques to get gas out of a baby. The fussiness he mentioned a few weeks ago seemed to stem from that, so we tried everything we could think of. Thankfully, that fussy period has passed. (Just like the gas.)

We've also learned roughly 143 different ways to get her to sleep, although this one is proving more difficult. Anna sleeps really well at night, but naps are a different story. She'll nap for EXACTLY 35 minutes in her crib or bassinette, regardless of how tired she is, or how we get her to sleep. However, she'll sleep for hours in my arms or in the stroller on a walk (waking up as soon as we get home, of course).

I have learned that watching your two-month old get three shots in her thighs is infinitely more painful than any needle pokes you could ever receive yourself (and I HATE needles). Anna handled them like a champ (she actually smiled and cooed after the first) and recovered quickly, but I may make Will take her to the pediatrician for her next set of immunizations by himself.

And, we're learning that time goes way too fast. Not a day goes by that a friend or a stranger on the street remarks how tiny Anna is, but to us, she seems so big and mature already. She seems to be growing and changing each day, in both appearance and personality. As exciting as that is, I'm not sure I want her to grow up so quickly.

For the record, Anna's up to 22.5 inches and 11 pounds, 4 ounces -- she's still in roughly the 75th percentile for both length and weight, so she's not that tiny. And, after 60 short days, she's in the 100th percentile for absolutely capturing my heart.

Anniversary & Babysitter

Last night Traci & I left Anna with a babysitter for the first time to celebrate our anniversary "on the town". Of course, by "on the town" I mean at a restaurant 3 blocks from home. You know, just in case. There was some nervousness in the minutes leading up to the sitter's arrival. There was anxiousness as we gave detailed instruction to the sitter who must've thought that we were under the impression that this was the first time that she'd seen an actual human baby. We sat for several mintues while she & Anna got acquainted. And then, with our breath held, we were off. We wondered if she'd cry all evening. We hoped there would be no fussy spells. Just how quickly would we get the call to come home?

At first, it was weird and unfamiliar to be out, just the two of us, at night, in a restaurant. We talked for a while about Anna. We wondered what she was up to at home. We stared at the cell phone, wondering if it'd ring. We hoped she was sleeping and eating. As we settled into the evening, we talked about the highlights of the last roller coaster of year - getting married, our big trip, becoming pregnant, preparing for a baby & then her actual arrival. We talked about the everyday normal, non-climactic events of our first year of marriage too. We tried to suppose how this evening would've gone had we not had Anna yet. Oddly, neither of us could even begin to guess. Just eight weeks in and she's changed us that much.

By nine o'clock dinner was done & we were headed home. By old standards, it was an early night. By current standards, we were pooped. As we approached home, the nervousness returned. We crept quietly up the sidewalk, listening for the uncontrollable wails that we expected. We opened the door to find our happy baby, on the sitters lap, playing with a rattle. She had eaten, but not napped while we were out and she was pooped too. A quick bottle and she was off to bed. We were not far behind. And then, we got the best anniversary gift of all. Anna slept the whole night through. The whole night.

Nearly 6 weeks!

No one ever told us it would be this hard. And, if they had, we wouldn't've believed 'em. The thing is, we have a relatively good baby. BUT, it still seems like she always needs something - food, a clean diaper, rocking .... Unfortunately she can't reach the cupboard yet- even WITH her "stand up to make me tall / sit down to make me small" stool.

The serious truth is that Anna had developed (emphasis on HAD) a nice sleep/awake/eat schedule that consisted of several 3 hour naps, a few hours of awake time, and eating in between. Her schedule had her sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at night, waking only to eat. Then, something happened. She turned five weeks old & all of that went out the door. Now she sleeps in 45 minute increments, if we're lucky, and wails (not cries, wails) for equally as long periods. Everyone says that this fussy period around 5-6 weeks is common. Everyone says that it'll pass. We just wish "everyone" would come take their turn pacing up & down the hallway with her in the wee hours of the morning.

On a less stressful note, Anna is growing like a weed. (I never thought I'd actually use that expression. I'm turning into my parents & my parents' parents before my very eyes.) Anna's 4 week pediatrician appointment showed her at 9 lbs, 8ozs & 22 inches long. Mom's milk suits her, I'd say. Her neck has grown amazingly strong. She's able to raise & control her head for several seconds at a time now. She's starting to focus on people and things now too. She loves the light of a lamp and will turn her head when she hears Traci enter the room.

My favorite part of the day is just after I get home. I sit on the couch, telling Traci about my day, with Anna in my lap. Anna stares up at me, soaking in every word, as though at any moment she might speak up to comment.

Anna's facial expressions are developing too. She smiles often now, makes cooing sounds, & blows spit bubbles for fun. (Live it up, Little Lady. Soon enough we'll be getting on to you for blowing spit bubbles!) Her best expression of all though is the sad face that she makes just before she cries. The corners of her lips turn down (almost at right angles); her brow furrows; her eyes squint. Then, just for a spit second, right before the wail escapes her lips, she's the most adorable, heart-melting baby you'll ever see.

Parenting a fussy, six week old is hard work. But, the joy outweighs the pain.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

A couple of weeks ago, as Anna's due date approached, I started to contemplate the blog post that would be her birth announcement. I run most days at lunch and I allow my mind to wander in a million directions to distract myself from the fact that my thighs are about to explode & my lungs are quickly collapsing. One particular day, I penned the complete "birth announcement" blog post in my mind. Even though I didn't know any of the details of her birth, I was sure that I knew exactly how I was going to feel & what I would want to say. Boy! Was I ever full of myself!

Since the big day, this blog post has loomed over me. I've enjoyed blogging & am anxious to keep it up. I know at least a few family members (*cough* Aunt Betty *cough*) are following along, so that's some incentive as well. But, I'm stuck. It's not right to move on to tell you how adorable Anna is and how little Traci is sleeping without some mention of her birth. After all, it was a life changing event for her. (For the record, it was pretty life-changing for me & Traci too.)

It's been one week since her birth and all that I can really say is that I have absolutely no words to describe how perfect & beautiful both she & Traci were in that very moment. We all know by now that I'm a big ole sap & a complete sucker for an emotional moment. But, truly, I've never experienced anything as happy & beautiful as what I witnessed that morning. Traci's labor through the night & work to bring Anna into the world, Anna's loud first cry, the bustle in the labor room, the excitement when you realize they're both okay, & then the joy when you see her placed on mom's chest ... there are simply no words to express it all. For all our technological advances, there's still no way to post, text, or tweet pure love. And that's just the way it should be.

For the statisticians amongst us ... here's the wrap-up

Anna Genevieve Hinshaw

Born: 09/15/09 at 8:42 a.m.

Weight: 6 pounds, 10 ounces

Length: 19 inches

Overall: Absolute perfection

Single Digits!

Well, folks, we're down to 8 weeks -- yay for single digits! Or, maybe....crap, single digits. At this point, it depends on the day you ask -- in some respects, it seems like the last 32 weeks have floooown by. In others, it seems like we might never get to hold the little girl that awaits us at the end of this journey. And, what a journey it's been. Just to share a few statistics and factoids -- in 2009, we've experienced

...2 pregnancy tests (yes, we went back to the drugstore for a 2nd one after our first positive result, we couldn't believe it!)

...9 doctor's appointments so far (with many more to come)

...4 ultrasounds

...376 prenatal vitamins (approximately -- that's TWO big horse pills a day. For those who know me, you know this alone is a HUGE accomplishment for me and my overactive gag reflex)

...1 craving for chocolate cake so bad I made one myself

...268,080 minutes since finding out we're having a baby

I must say, when I look at it in those terms, it's understandable that I forget what life was like pre-pregnancy! But, now there's just 8 short weeks until a new life enters this crazy world. A new circle begins & I can hardly wait to see where it goes. Just eight weeks.

She's yours now. You can do with her what you want.

Wednesday night Traci & I did the most grown-up thing that we've likely ever done. We attended a breastfeeding class. Breastfeeding classes are not for the immature. They include a fair amount of frontal nudity, at least in the presentation materials shown, and a lot of talking about breasts & nipples. It's more than just the "mature content" though that makes breastfeeding class for full-fledged adults only. Children don't have children. (Well, in some cases they do, but they shouldn't.) Adults have children. Parents have children.

I'm finding that my transition to parenthood is a big step towards what I perceive to be "full-fledged adulthood." I haven't lived with my parents in 13 years. It's been nearly 15 years that I've had serious levels of independence. I've bought and sold houses. I've taken jobs & moved. I've married the best girl ever. All of these were decisions that I made. My parents have offered their 2¢ when warranted, but these are all major, adult, life decisions that I've essentially made for myself or with T. Through all of these though, I still felt like my parents' child. If I failed, "Mom" would rub my hand or "Dad" would help me fix it. I suppose they'll still do those things for as long as they can, but now things begin to feel different. Soon I'll be the parent.

It will be our responsibility to make decisions for another person, a person who won't be capable of making her own decisions for a long time. It will be our responsibilities to soothe the hurt, fix the failures, and praise the triumphs. As we turn this corner, begin this new chapter (have your pick of the metaphors), I begin to feel a hint of the weight of parenthood. No doubt that for all it's trials & tribs it'll be among the most rewarding adventures ever, but for now it's unknown & a skosh scary.

During the breastfeeding class, the lactation consultant talked at great lengths about the pro's of breastfeeding, the con's of formula feeding, the ups & downs of using a bottle from time to time, the good & bad of pacifiers, feeding at will, and a host of other controversial, new parent topics. In the end, though, she said, "She's yours now. You can do with her what you want." The lactation consultant is right. We're the parents. We make the rules now. But, but ... I'm used to following the rules, not making them ....

How?How?How?

As our lives hurtle forward to the much anticipated arrival of our little one, we've decided to try to blog. We know that we're far from many of our family & friends and we hope that this might be one way of keeping in touch & sharing our changing lives with them. Hopefully you'll hear from both of us, individually & together, and hopefully we'll hear from you.

This evening we sat in a room full of soon-to-be, first time parents. We attended a short lecture given by a pediatrician at one of the local hospitals. He talked for more than an hour about breast feeding & bottle feeding, physiological jaundice, gestational diabetes, how to trim baby finger nails, how not to take advice from other people, and what felt like a gazillion other topics that we've not even begun to think about. At times it seemed like so much to think about. At other times, we looked around the room & thought, we must be more prepared than lots of these people. I'm guessing though, we'll never really be ready.

A flurry of note taking went on through the session. Though, I sat with my arms folded and listened intently. Traci sat, pen poised for note taking, and wrote very little. Are we more retentive than all the other parents there? Or, are we just more laid back? Somehow I doubt either is true. I also doubt that writing anything down would've done much good. In 4 months when our baby is whaling at the top of her little lungs, it's unlikely that we'd run to our notes. But, what will we do? How will we know? This is the worry. Everyone says, "you will know." But, how? How?How?How?

We were struck by the pediatrician's discussion of cutting baby finger nails. He suggested that using so-called baby finger nail clippers will inevitably lead to bloody fingers & toes. He suggested using manicure scissors, but that's not the point. The point is that, in a very casual out-of-the way manner, he said don't put a band-aid on those bloody, baby fingers. Baby'll chew her fingers & can choke on the band-aid. "Wow," we both seemed to have thought. How would we have ever thought of that? And, of course, it's not just band-aids but a hundred other things that we've not yet discovered. How will our poor baby not choke on our sheer ignorance? How?How?How?