"9 Months On, 9 Months Off"

"Nine months on, nine months off"

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I've said it many times. I've heard it many times. 'Tis a lie - a BIG FAT lie. I had Beatrice 9 months ago now, and I can tell you that it ain't "off" yet. I gained 45lbs when I was pregnant. (To prove it - here I am in black dress camoflauge at 38 weeks pregnant, and in labor at the hospital. HUGE.)

I'm NOT one of those women who wore my normal jeans home from the hospital, I'm one of the ones that still looked pregnant when Beatrice was 5 months old. Anyway, I've only got 5-7lbs to go (I know, I know, not much but when you're only 5'1" on a really good day...it is alot), and I'm realizing that the phrase should actually be: "Nine months on, nine months off...but you're still going to look totally different"

For example, a few things I've noticed that I can no longer assumer are "pregnancy hold-overs" now that Beatrice is 9 months old:

- my feet are a half size bigger

- my hips are wider (whatever, I earned them)

- I now have neck fat (I've never actually seen it in a mirror, but whenever Beatrice is about to fall...she grabs a fistful and stays upright)

- my stomach looks like a bowl of Jell-O, and not the firm pudding kind either

- I've had to buy all new (bigger) clothes
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But what's great is, I don't care. Ok, that's not true - I do care. But not like I did before she was born (when, by the way, I should have been wearing crop tops EVERY SINGLE DAY). Now, it just doesn't really faze me because I look at Beatrice and think, "Yeah, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat for her." The second thought to cross my mind immediately after that? "Thank the good Lord the human gestation period isn't 18 months!"

B in a bag (or two)

Two variations on a theme today...

We had fun, what more can I say?
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It's been a big week for Beatrice (and me) - Sarah B, her new nanny, started on Monday. She'll be taking care of Beatrice from 7am-4pm Monday through Thursday. Zack and I are so happy, as Sarah B is just wonderful with Beatrice. She's certainly more qualified to stay with Beatrice than I am - she has a 3 page resume listing all of her experience nanny-ing and teaching preschool, infant CPR, etc.! And Beatrice adores her. They've been having such fun together this week, which is especially good given that she is in the midst of teething hell (e.g., sleepless nights, constant crying, gnawing her hand/anything she can put in her mouth) AND has a bad cold. We did make it to the zoo today which helped some in terms of distraction.

And then of course there are all the other fun activities she's been doing with Sarah B - playing outside, going to the park, sitting in bags, playing peek-a-boo, walking around, talking, reading, practicing waving hello and goodbye, trying to drink from a glass, etc.

It's been a big change for me too. One I'm still trying to adjust to...on the one hand I'm so happy that we've found someone wonderful to be Beatrice's nanny. It means I can go back to "work" (I now define any place where I get to go to the bathroom BY MYSELF only as "work", and anywhere I don't - e.g. home with Beatrice - as work, no quotation marks). It means I can finally get the house unpacked. It means lots of good things for Beatrice. On the other hand, I am totally selfish and want to keep Beatrice just to myself and have her love me and only me...or something insane like that. Luckily we make enough money to be able to make this decision, rather than have it made for us by our financial situation. So the decision, and all the accompanying guilt, is mine. Or rather ours, but I would guess it's more mine. Seems that soul-wrenching guilt, much like bigger hips, is primarily the domain of mothers.

So...so far it's going well. Sarah B and I were talking today while at the zoo with Beatrice, and she told me she thought I was a good mom and I nearly lost it weeping. Later I called my Mom and did lose it for a bit (so did she, by the way). So the guilt is definitely creeping in, but I do feel that by going back to work (part-time for now) and having someone as wonderful as Sarah B with Beatrice, that I am doing the right thing for all of us. Plus I'll get to go pee ALL BY MYSELF!!!

9 months old!

Now I understand why people typically choose a much larger stuffed animal with which to compare the growth of their child to...9 month olds do not hold still. I tried 3 different times today - once when she first got up in her PJs, once in her pretty blue dress, and once at the end of the day with Zack's help when she was in diaper only. Guess which came out the best? In the pretty dress pictures she is mostly just a blue blur. Perhaps I'll have to switch to doing this when she is asleep...or maybe I could just tie her down?

At 9 months old, Beatrice ("Wiggle Worm") is very active. She is most definitely "cruising" now, which according to all the baby books is when they pull themselves up on something and use it to hold themselves up and "walk" around it. Beatrice particularly enjoys her little table her Daddy made when he was 6 (or so legend has it).

She also seems to be in love with all kitties. Again I blame this on Grandma Elizabeth and Molly Kitty. Like her new kitty? Read the tag: Baxter. Beatrice got me to buy this by projectile vomiting on it in the bookstore. I'm not kidding. She always does this in toy and book stores, never anywhere else. I think she's smart (and crafty).

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I also tried some photos with Flat Bear this morning when she woke up, thinking (mistakenly) that she might be tired enough to hold still. She does have that sweet, tired expression in some of them though.

What else? Beatrice is clapping constantly now. And doing this cute new snorting thing, sort of like what you'd expect her to do if you said, "What does the piggy say?", only she does it whenever she thinks it is appropriate (most of the time). She still loves everything small, and enjoys pincing at things with her forefinger and thumb. Screws in anything wooden are a big favorite. She's getting used to grass and now tries to pick individual blades rather than holding her foot up and looking disgusted. Beatrice is eating up a storm with lots of fruit and veg (pureed only). I don't know how much she weighs yet (first pediatrician appt this Friday) but I'd guess HEAVY, maybe 22lbs or so. I tried to measure her too - she's either 29, 28.5, 25, or 28 inches tall. Those were my best 4 attempts at it. All I can say with certainty is that she is still shorter than me and lighter, that's about it. Also that she is the most adorable little person I've ever met and that each day with her is a delight.

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From the pediatrician:

Weight - 19lb, 6oz (60th percentile)

Height - 28 inches (70th percentile)

Head circumference - I've forgotten now, but it's 80th percentile!

Look what I found!

While unpacking Christmas ornaments (which by the way is an extremely good use of time when we still have clothes to hang up and electrical outlets to babyproof), I came across Mr and Mrs Claus. Ah...now I know we're home. I've had them out every Christmas for as long as I can remember. My mother hates them and is glad I took them when I left for college. Eli, my old roommate, once admitted he was terrified of them. Zack wants to burn them. I love them. And in early December this year Beatrice will get to meet them!
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We've had a nice, relaxing weekend unpacking and exploring some of the area around Santa Barbara. On Saturday we bought Beatrice an alphabet and number puzzle-mat, which is foam and ALOT softer than the tile floor! She of course made a beeline for the tile as soon as we put it down...or perhaps that was because we played "pants-on-the-head" game with her.


Some pictures of Beatrice from the weekend - the one of her sleeping is what I like to call "Mad Sleeping" which is when she is obviously awake but doesn't want me to move her because she's mad that she's awake and wants to sleep (or something like that). And also my "Little Dutch Girl" - she hates when I do this to her hat.

And some more photos of our newest piece of furniture, as requested - our new TV table. It was an old "stereo", except that it was mono. Record player and radio. Fabulous.

Today we dressed Beatrice up in her new Princeton outfit, which we (belatedly) realized made her look like an escaped convict (and a boy). We also took the opportunity presented by her not napping in the morning of going for a long drive out into the country. Lots of beautiful scenery, and we could see burn line from the Zaca fire pretty clearly in some parts. We stopped in Solvang to give Beatrice a break from the carseat. And stumbled upon a Danish Wonderland...seems it was once a Danish settlement and now windmills and tourist tat abound. http://www.solvangusa.com/



We think (hope) that Beatrice is really teething now - she's gnawing on everything and has been in a bad mood for quite a while now. Lots of ear pulling and fussing before bedtime too. Poor girl.

Our new furniture!

Welcome to our home...we still don't have our furniture from London, but we do have our BRAND NEW sofa and chairs! We feel so "mid-century" chic...

Come visit before Beatrice makes her mark on them!
And of course I can't post without some pictures of Princess. The one below makes me think, "Oh goodness, we have a toddler now"

And then of course there is yet another photo to send to the "Mother of the Year" selection committee: