February 2007 Archives

Stylish, no? These sunglasses stayed on her face for a grand total of 20 seconds. Apparently her ears are set far back on her head and she has no bridge to speak of on her nose.

This has been another month of constant illness. We had quite a scare when Kumi got RSV (also diagnosed as bronchiolitis) a couple of weeks ago and had to take her to the emergency room two nights in a row. She was wheezing and coughing so much that she could barely breathe. There is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing your little baby in miniature hospital garb, sitting wide-eyed and breathless on a gurney. She had tubes attached to measure her oxygen intake, a mask covering her mouth to give her albuterol (asthma medicine) and the nurses stuck skinny Q-tip like things way up her nose. Kumi definitely didn't like that. She even had to get chest x-rays -- it was two nights full of wheezy tears.

Developmentally though, she's been thriving. To my delight, she babbles all the time and the sweet sound of "mamamama" continues to be most prominent. She's also got a great sense of humor. Kumi discovered peek-a-boo and she can't get enough of it. Her belly laughs have me rolling on the floor too and we spend a lot of time chuckling together.

Lately, she's been trying to sit up on her own. She starts off with a downward dog move -- like she's about to do a push-up but with her butt high in the air. Then she lifts one arm above her head and swivels her body so that her tush lands on the bed/floor/crib mattress. She ends up looking like she's casually lounging and not quite sitting up. Very fun to watch.

And can she move! MF and I were negligent parents and one morning while we both slumbered deeply, Kumi woke up (she was in the bed with us) and managed to scoot herself all the way OFF the bed. A loud thud and crash jolted us awake. A split second later, Kumi was wailing on the bedroom hardwood floor. Fortunately our bed is low and there were some towels piled where she landed because we'd been running the humidifier non-stop -- you know how those things drip with condensation. Still, it was a nerve-wracking lesson that our little baby is no longer the immobile being we'd gotten accustomed to.

I feel like Kumiko's personality is really starting to come out and she's a strong-willed girl full of joy and a touch of shyness. I could go on and on about her little antics. I am so grateful I can stay home with her during this time. And as I get used to motherhood, I am forging comforting routines and the urge to create is returning. I hope to start posting illustrations and crafts soon. I've been sketching some ideas...

Who knew sleep deprivation could be so fun and productive?

This last month has been crazy busy. I was going to post a picture of Kumiko in her high chair, covered with rice cereal, but I can't find my digital camera cable to download the images. In fact, I can't seem to find anything because I still haven't unpacked everything. Yes, we moved.

And I LOVE our new apartment. It's supposedly only a couple of hundred more square feet compared to our itty bitty place before, but it feels like it's three times the size. There's a skylight in the kitchen. Hardwood floors throughout. A spectacular view of the city, complete with the Space Needle.

The picture above is from the almost weekly playdate. The three kids virtually ignored each other in the beginning -- we started to meet about four months ago -- but now, they're totally fascinated. They paw and pull and tug and sometimes I think they're even talking amongst themselves. The girl next to Kumi is Aya, who is only a couple of weeks older and the boy on the right is Barend. He's exactly two months older than Kumi. All three kids are so good. It's funny how at this age, every week makes such a difference developmentally but in a few years, the slight variations in their age will be completely insignificant.

It's great to be part of this little group -- the moms commiserate about the hardships of motherhood and share the joys as well. The kiddies get to try out each others' toys and will one day actually play together. We've lent each other various carriers, checked out kid-friendly venues, swapped info on resources. I've read and heard that the first year of motherhood can be awfully isolating but this group, my hubby and other friends have really made these last six months a much more social and fulfilling time than I expected.

Here's a shot of the babies in action:

There have been a number of milestones this month. Kumi now gets up on her hands and knees, and scoots herself backwards. Not quite crawling, but starting to get the mechanics. And she's definitely talking. She's been calling me "Amama" and she's mastered "hi" and there are random "Baba" and "Dada" sounds. I think "Avava" is the word for Daddy. Just as I'd feared, she hates solids. She's a breast milk only kind of girl and so far she's rejected every baby food jar on the market. I have terrible visions of having to go to her kindergarten to feed her for lunch.

The sleep thing has also regressed. What with multiple sicknesses, the move, and general excitement (her grandparents were in town the same weekend we moved) the beautiful long stretches of sleep have disappeared...I have come to the conclusion that I won't be sleeping for at least another year, so I might as well suck it up and go with the flow.

Well, it's bedtime for me. I've been reading "Goodnight Moon" for story time every night and my favorite parts are "Goodnight to the quiet old lady whispering hush" and "Goodnight nobody" with the blank page. "Goodnight nobody" seems like such an advanced concept for a child to grasp -- I keep wondering when Kumiko will ask "What does that mean, Mommy?"

At any rate, goodnight internet.