Holy moly! We have a routine!

That's right... a routine!  A regular routine every day.  Is it exactly the same every day?  No.  Is it pretty darn close?  Yes!  Abby wakes up between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning.  I give her a bottle while rocking in the glider in her room.  She drinks most of it, pushes it away and cuddles up to go back to sleep.  Around 6:30 Randy comes in to "relieve" me and I go take a shower.  Breakfast is between 7:30 and 8:00 and then a bath.  She goes down for her first nap between 9:00 and 10:00.  After nap is a snack and lunch is at 12:00.  Second nap happens between 2:00 and 3:00.  After nap is a snack and dinner for her is at 5:00 or 5:30.  Bedtime is between 7:00 and 8:00.  Playtime and reading in between everything.  If we go anywhere it's between naps, except for waterbabies; that's at 5:30 every Monday and Wednesday.

She only naps about one hour at a time.  Sometimes more, sometimes a little less.  Her morning nap I use to get dressed, put makeup on, fix my hair, check my email and tidy the house.  Second nap depends on the day.  If it's been a good day I'll prep dinner, do laundry... something productive.  If it's been a tiring day I might just take a nap or stare blankly at "Grey's Anatomy" on Lifetime.

Why did it take almost 10 months to do this?  I'm pretty sure it's my fault.  I wasn't strong enough to let her cry through whatever she needed to work out and so what I saw as her fighting a routine I now think was probably her begging for one.  At any rate, we're here now and it's fantastic.

Two front teeth... almost

Abby has 3 teeth.  She is currently working on her 2 front teeth.  It's been awful this week... and it's only Tuesday.  Tylenol doesn't seem to be helping.  She wants me to hold her all day but she wants to play, too, and it doesn't make for a very fun day.  Getting her out of the house for a couple of hours a day seems to help for a while but I think we're in for a long week.  I wish there was more I could do for her.  She's just not herself.  Her sweet, funny, silly, self... I haven't seen much of that Abby this week.  I think I will resort to some orajel and a washcloth tomorrow to try to help them break through.  My poor baby.  As an adult you don't think about how something a small as getting your first set of teeth can be so painful and unnerving for a baby.  She doesn't understand why it hurts.  She doesn't know how to make it stop.  She looks at me like I should know.  She always looks at me like I should know how to fix everything.  Can't a hug and a kiss be enough?

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun Mr. Golden Sun!

We went outside today.  OUTSIDE!  Walked to the grocery store before lunch and had some "sidewalk" practice for Abby before her afternoon nap.  I didn't realize until today how much I missed going outside with her.  We've only had one other day of playing outside since late October.  Abby LOVES being outside and I'm hoping that will be something that stays with her.  I'd love to spend all day outside during the Summer.

I'm loving the stage she's in right now.  She's just hilarious.  Silly, crazy smart, toddling all over the place.  But I'm still looking forward to her getting older.  I can't wait to color, make crafts, bake cookies, play dress up.  Hoping she'll like to garden with me... maybe I'll be able to get her to pull weeds for me!

What I'm really hoping for is that her love of being outside and her apparent coordination might actually translate into her being a little athlete.  I would love to go watch soccer games, softball games, any games!

I guess what I really can't wait for is to meet the person she will be.

Genetic Testing

During a routine ultrasound at about 30 weeks gestation the tech saw a "blip" on Abby's heart.  We went to Providence in Everett where the blip turned into a mass.  We went to Children's in Seattle and the mass turned into a rhabdomyoma which could have been just an extra bit of muscle and fat or could be caused by something called Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC). 

TSC causes random tumors to occur in all areas of the body: brain, kidneys, eyes, skin.  The brain and kidneys are the most common areas where tumors caused by TSC will create the most problems.  There is a wide range of severity in cases of TSC from those that are so mild they are never diagnosed to brain tumors that can cause retardation and kidney tumors that can take over and cease kidney function.

When she was 5 weeks old we took Abby back to Children's for an echocardiogram and she was just fine.  At 6 weeks old we went back to have ultrasounds of her brain and kidneys and they were both clear.  Back to Children's again at 7 months and her heart was still fine.

Abby has a "bump" on the inside of her right elbow that has been there since birth and a "bump" at the top of her right cheek just under her eye and a "bump" on her left heel.  So, I'm starting to wonder if we should get the genetic testing done that will tell us for sure whether or not she has TSC just in case anything happens in the future and we should have this knowledge already on hand.

I did my hair!

Abby doesn't like to sleep.  Or, rather, she doesn't like to sleep alone.  She likes to be held for naps during the day and I'm fairly certain she only tolerates sleeping alone at night.  However, this week she has been taking her naps in her crib twice a day, every day and I think this time it's going to stick!  Minimal crying and averaging one hour at a time.  Not perfect, but it's been absolutely life changing for me.  I used to feel selfish for wanting a break from her during the day but, this week my house is tidy (not perfectly clean but I wouldn't be embarrassed is someone stopped by) my laundry is caught up and I did my hair!!! I did my hair for the second day in a row!  It's amazing how these simple things can make me so happy and make me realize how much I took for granted before having Abby.  I feel normal this week for the first time in, oh about nine and half months!

Who thought this was a good idea?

That's how I felt for quite a while about me being a mom.  From the moment I saw the positive test until she was probably about 6 months old; sometimes I still do.  I always thought that I knew I wanted to be a mom but I had a reaction I didn't expect when I peed on the stick and the little window said "Pregnant."  What right did I have thinking I had what it would take to be someone's mother?  But, as of today I have a 9 month old baby girl named Abby and the best thing I've ever heard is her little voice calling me "Mama."