It's a Standing Baby!

Oh, it seems like just a few days ago when I wrote about the "Standing Baby" game Jason and I used to play with Boba. Yes, I did say that the game's appeal would expire eventually, given that Boba standing would no longer be considered a "miracle" and instead, an integral part of her development as a human being. (Duh.) But the sight of Boba standing, unassisted or not, has always been one of my favorite things. For one, she is so damn tall for her age (we haven't measured her lately, but she's consistently been in the 95th percentile for height), and secondly, she is always so happy when she's standing. It's like her way of proclaiming her independence, or asserting her individuality...or something. I don't know, it's like I'm starting to see the true essence of who she is (before we warp her with our faulty parenting, that is) whenever she straightens her legs and beams out to the world.

So this weekend, after our rather stressful move into Lolo & Lola's house, Boba rewarded us with the aforementioned milestone: hoisting herself to a standing position for the very first time. It was SO COOL! In the midst of this newfound ability she has lost total interest in all her toys, and instead spends all her time in her playpen standing, then falling, then standing, then falling. And standing. And falling. She does not cry when she falls. She just rolls over and hoists herself back up again into a standing position. I never thought this simple human movement could be so fascinating, but with a baby you just can't take your eyes off.

It's also added a new dimension to our Peek-a-boo games. Once she emerges from the ground, we yell "Boo!" and she giggles like crazy. It's totally adorable.

God, didn't she just start crawling, what, a week ago???

Change of Address

Yup, you heard right. We're moving back in with Lolo and Lola - a.k.a. my parents. A brave decision, you might say, and I would absolutely second that thought...although I would say, not so much "brave" but more "AUDACIOUS", or perhaps even "INTREPID". You see, while Jason and Katrina can saunter through my folks' front door while whistling some carefree tune (okay, Boba can't whistle yet), I, on the other hand, trudge through the same door as though I am dragging cinderblocks by my ankles. You see, a thirty-one year-old daughter returning home, regardless of her healthy career, marriage, & family, has something of a negative STIGMA attached to it. And I cannot ignore the fact that my older siblings reside comfortably in their own large, multi-bedroom homes with their families. I mean, let's face it, no one wants to be known as the one kid who doesn't make as much money. And believe me, I'm not doing bad at all, but by comparison - and let's just acknowledge that Miko is an investment banker and Joji is an IT whiz and that I am in THEATRE - it's kinda sad.

(Those of you who are now whipping out your checkbooks to write checks to the "Feed Boba Fund", relax...this little girl will be fed, clothed, educated, and gifted as much as her little heart desires. I am NOT that broke.)

But hear me out. The Heil family has been living in what would be considered, by our previous New York standards anyway, the LAP OF LUXURY for the last year. We have had a fabulous 2 bedroom apartment with an ocean-view in a complex that has a gym, a clubhouse, a pool & jacuzzi. Not too shabby. We could have continued living this life, EXCEPT that it meant that we would pretty much be renting the rest of our lives, a prospect that doesn't really appeal to us. Therefore...

...we are moving back with Mom & Pop. To build up a nice little nest egg so that we can actually afford a 2-bedroom (hopefully 3, actually) condo with an ocean-view (okay, that's negotiable) somewhere in San Diego county. Hopefully it will only take a year, and quite frankly, the thought of finally owning a place is so wonderful that moving back home with my parents doesn't sound too bad, stigma or not. Plus Boba loves her Lolo & Lola. I mean, she is just crazy about them. (And did we mention the in-house babysitting service they provide?)

Anyway, moving with a baby is no small task, but Boba has been such a joy lately that I am inclined to think that she will adapt rather nicely. As you can see, she's had quite a bit of fun with all the boxes around our place.

Wish me luck. Yeah, I said "ME". Jason and Katrina will be just fine.

And off to Lolo & Lola's we go!

Happy Days

You know how things are going swell between you and your baby, and you wish every day could be like the one you just had? I'm specifically talking about:

1. Days when your baby does not have a cold, a fever, a rash, diarrhea, or any combination of the above
2. Days when your baby has slept through the night, woke up smiling and babbling, and proceeded to be in a good mood all day
3. Days when your baby has long enough naps to sustain the aforementioned good mood all day
4. Days when little bouts of fussing are easily remedied by food, or a toy, or a good cuddle

You know what I'm talking about?

Well, I think all mommies aspire to have days like these, and it's a true blessing when you can have even one day like that. Imagine having a few in a row...heaven! You see, Boba and I, after having the hell week that we did a couple of weeks ago, have arrived back in the world of healthy and functioning human beings. And this past week, we have had quite a few days like the one I described above. Not necessarily in a row, but certainly more than usual!

And to celebrate, I have with me a whole BEVY of lovely photos....

Note the poufy hair on the right side of her head

Ain't she colorful?

Lil' Crawler

Note same pouf, different day

Hurricane Boba

NEWS BRIEF:
A baby girl (left, pictured), age 7 months, named Katrina and nicknamed Boba, born on the same year as similarly-titled hurricane (but not named for said hurricane), singlehandedly melted her mother's heart on Wednesday evening when, upon said mother's return from the office, the baby girl crawled a three foot distance to get to her mother's outreached arms. Note that this was the first time for such an event, marking it not only as an unforgettable milestone, but also as the longest distance ever traveled by said baby.

"I was moved to tears," said the baby's mother, audibly choking back her emotions. "The determination she showed in her attempt to reach me was probably the most demonstrative she has ever been in her affection toward me."

The baby's father was present for the event, but was evidently temporarily immobilized with delight at the baby girl's short, but profound, journey.

The baby's paternal grandmother was also present, and similarly affected.

Such mobility at this age is hardly surprising, most pediatricians would concur. In fact, this is just a precursor to further motion as many babies at this point of their development discover quickly that movement allows them access to previously-unreachable objects. Some examples of this are toilets and exposed outlets.

When questioned about this phenomenon, the baby's mother laughed and replied, "My baby? Never. She knows not to approach anything that might unwittingly cause damage or harm to her or anything around her. She's very smart."

(Reports of the baby's mother's recent meltdown due to sleep deprivation and childrearing-related stress are still unconfirmed. However, experts do say that such factors can impair judgement and lead to incoherent speech.)

Despite the mother's comments, surveillance measures have been taken. A follow-up review of the baby's progress will be reported in the near future.

Bathtime

"Rubber Duckie, you're the one...."

Bathing Boba is actually a weird experience. She really enjoys being in the water. She splashes about, plays with her duckie, babbles and basically sits there being cute. Then, right after I pull her out of the water and wrap her in a towel, all hell breaks loose. She then starts to scream like a banshee while I try to rub her little arms and legs with baby lotion, and doesn't stop until the last snap on her jammies is snapped. Then I show her clean, combed self in the mirror and she smiles like Buddha. Weird.

We keep our apartment at a balmy 76 degrees, if you're wondering.

A Valentine's Editorial

Some stuff has come up that I would like to address. And in the spirit of love on this day of overblown westernized commercialism, I would like to say a few words:

• Bottom line, we all love our kids. And we all do the best we can. I've never intended this blog to be a "how-to" for parenting, and it should be obvious that Jason and I are big on trial-and-error (lots of trials and even more errors).
• Ferber is NOT the end-all, be-all sleep authority. His method just happened to work for us. I hear tranquilizers work too. (Okay, that was a joke.)
• Parenting is damn hard. Specifically, motherhood is ridiculously difficult. There is a conspiracy out there to make women believe that motherhood is a never-ending happy-place whereby we as mothers have completed our biological imperative and should therefore live in eternal contentment and gratitude. These are the same people who believe that love should only be celebrated once a year. So say it with me again: "Parenting is HARD."
• Our children are the most beautiful creatures on earth. End of story.

And finally...

• For new readers, this is how "Boba" came about, and this is how "Flambo" came about.

Oh yeah, and here's Boba's response to the Mommy's rant and the whole Valentine's day hoohah:

Words of wisdom on Boba's bib

Things are lookin' up

Still no pictures yet, but at least I have good news.

Boba is getting better.

But that's just the half of it. You see, colds do get better (provided they don't catch a secondary infection or another virus along the way), and symptoms do ease up with time. What tends to happen, however, is that while you, as the parent, comfort your child in her time of illness, the child learns something very interesting: that if she shows you enough distress, you will do anything to help her. And that includes staying up all night with her sleeping in your arms. Meanwhile, your arms ache with muscle fatigue, your ears ring with the rattle of her snot-ridden breathing, and you are barely conscious due to relentless exhaustion and stress. But that doesn't matter because she knows you are right there and that you will not let go of her lest you tolerate another hysterical screaming fit, much like the ones you've heard all night.

They can be very clever, these little ones. Because they know that they can continue doing this, even though they are feeling better.

Boba showed remarkable improvement by Saturday, having slept through the night (albeit in her car seat) on Friday. But come Saturday night, she refused to go to sleep alone. Well, I was tired and fed-up at this point, knowing full well that her health was such that she was not only capable of sleeping well; she certainly could do it without me. But I was no longer a fan of swinging her in her car seat since she is almost 20 lbs. and it takes at least 10 minutes of swinging to get her to sleep. So...

...I FERBERIZED her.

This is essentially the "crying-it-out" method, which seems harsh to some, but is now considered total brilliance by me. Yes, the first night was really tough, as the book (pictured right) said it would be, but last night she slept through the night...sans swaddle, sans pacifier, sans bottle...in her crib, alone. For almost 11 hours.

AMAZING.

The method can take up to 2 weeks, it says in the book, but generally for infants you can see marked improvement in 4 days. Well, Boba got it down in 2 nights. So either she's a quick study or I was just lucky last night and had a really sleepy baby. Regardless, I think this book is great, and for most babies I think you only really need to read the first three chapters or so. I avoided this book like the plague for months because the idea of hearing Boba cry for more than 5 minutes was too unbearable to even consider. But in retrospect, it really wasn't as awful as I thought it would be. Actually, I think she probably learned so quickly because she was already capable of sleeping through the night, but I wanted her to do it without all those sleep aids that I usually provide (swaddle, etc.).

Anyway, too late to make this long story short, but I am a much happier Mommy this week. And I promise to post photos soon! Thanks to everyone who has sent their love and sympathy to me these last few days!

Mommy's lament

It's been a tough week.

A really, really tough week.

Which would explain why there have been no new photos.

Boba has a cold. A really bad cold. A cold that says, "The first three colds were just for practice. I hope you enjoyed them, because this is the REAL DEAL."

It has not been fun.

My poor darling sweetheart is miserable. She cannot breathe through her nose, which means she can barely take a bottle, and it also means she can't take her beloved pacifier. The bottle comforts her, soothes her...as does the pacifier. So without either of these, she is without the means to soothe herself in her moments (read: hours) of misery.

When she coughs, it is as though she might actually expel a lung. Her nose is a perpetual snot faucet, and is red and tender from the constant rubbing with a kleenex. I am sure her throat is on fire from dryness and irritation.

It is a truly heartbreaking sight to watch her.

At night, when she is most inconsolable, she clings to me as if to say, "Save me, Mommy! Take this pain, this misery, this absolute HELL away from me!! What did I do to deserve this? What will you do to help me? WHAT???"

And usually, I just hold her, rock her, sobbing silently to myself that while I have done everything within my power, it's just not enough to relieve my poor baby.

We have not slept much, Boba and I. I have slept even less, but I'm fine with that as long as I know she's getting rest. Well, scratch that...actually it's becoming rather miserable for me too. Pardon my moment of self-martyrdom, but I may actually be catching this same cold. That would also be no fun.

My usual lighthearted commentary will continue next week, when, I'm hoping, this will all come to an end. Boba will be back sleeping through the night, I will also get my usual sleep quota, and we will all be happy and healthy and thriving. And once this occurs, I will take pictures to commemorate the occasion.

Until then...all you cold-free readers please say a prayer of gratitude to the powers-that-be for each day of good health that you receive. It is no small thing.

The many faces of Boba

When I take pictures of Boba, I pretty much click away as much as I can for about a minute or two, with the idea that somewhere in the mass of shots I'll get a pretty good picture. Fortunately, Boba is totally photogenic so usually the majority of the photos are really cute. So, the other day I sat her down on the floor with the hopes that she would crawl to me, but instead she just sat there smiling and giggling, her face changing from one adorable expression to the next. I was so amazed by her different looks that I had to take some photos. These are some of my favorites.

Now I know all mothers think this, but I am SERIOUSLY amazed at how gorgeous she is. I mean, I don't think I'm bad looking, but this little girl is totally out of my league. So it kind of trips me out that I made her, you know? (Oh, right, Jason too.) Sometimes I stare at her, totally dumbfounded by her beauty. I know, I know, I'm biased. But just look at her!



I feel sometimes like she knows I'm taking a permanent record of her when I have the camera in my hands. I know she's only six months old, but....doesn't she look like a PRO???

Here's more:



Wow. She is just so darling. Pardon my gushing, but it's my blog, and I'll gush if I want to!

"Boba Feet"

("Boba Feet"...get it? You know, like in "Star Wars"? GET IT?? hee hee hee)

Anyway, speaking of feet-obsession, I am mutually enamored with Boba's little toes. I also love her little hands but her toes really get me. First of all...they're so small and cute! Second, when I am overcome with their cuteness, I just love to nibble on them. Third, when she stands on them there's something in the way that she plants her feet on the ground that just says, "Behold ME! In all my Boba glory!!!"

I know I'm reading way too much into my baby's feet, but that's just what Mommies do.