The Women in My Life...

I mentioned in my last post that my Tía Lu came up this weekend for the Nike Women's Marathon. We spent most of Saturday together, which was wonderful!! For a second, though, I started to wonder if she might be more granny than aunt:

I may be young, but I know enough to know that I will never catch Mommy May knitting!! I was a little disappointed that she wasn't making something for me, but we still have a few months left before my first Christmas *hint, hint*

Here we are together... I was mesmerized by her pretty shirt:

I also got this quick pic with Nani... see how I'm holding my hands? That's one of my newest tricks! Sometimes, I just sit and stare at my hands... I'm becoming quite amazed by what they can do!


We all piled into the car this morning to go and see the race... well, Mommy May, Nani, and Cousin Laura went to see Tía Lu race. Daddy May and I dropped them off near the end of the course, and then we went to Yin-Yin's for a quick visit. We all figured it might be too crowded and cold for a baby. Besides, I love any chance I get to visit my Yin-Yin! Here's Tía Lu goofing around after the race:

We made it back home by early afternoon, which left lots of time for relaxing. Yin-Yin got me a really great blanket, with all kinds of bells and whistles. It even has attached toys and a built-in pillow! Daddy May and I played with it for a while and then spent some time just lounging:

So, between hanging out at home and heading over the bridge to Yin-Yin's house, I got to see all of the women in my life today. I am such a lucky baby!!

Night Moves...

Today was a relatively uneventful day, which was just fine by me and Mommy May. We ran a few errands to get ready for my Tía Lu's visit! She is coming up this weekend for the Nike Women's Marathon in SF. She'll get here tonight, but way past my bedtime! I get to spend most of tomorrow with her, though, and I can't wait!

Once Mommy May and I got back home today, I spent a lot of the afternoon playing, which has become my favorite pastime! Here I am having a meeting with a few of my toys; sometimes they get a little feisty, so I have to remind them who's boss:

Did you notice, right at the end of the video, where I crane my head around as if I'm going to take a bite out of my monkey? Well, that's my new thing. I often sleep in that weird position now. Go figure.

Speaking of sleep, Mommy and Daddy May are slowly weaning me off swaddling. I still need to be wrapped when I first go to sleep, so Mommy May just wraps me lightly with a blanket that I can easily wiggle out of as I move around. And boy do I move!! Another of my sleep-related quirks is the tendency to move myself into the corner of my crib, like this:

Mommy and Daddy May always, always place me in the middle of my crib to sleep, but they usually find me up in that corner before too long. Just to show that I don't discriminate against other corners, here I am at the other end:

I'm also a big fan of sleeping on my side now, as you can see in this dignified picture that we titled Stupor:

p.s. On a completely unrelated note, Mommy May had a pretty good coupon, so she picked me up a boppy pillow today. In addition to being useful as a nursing pillow, it's great for tummy time. There's actually a pretty cute picture of me smiling with my new pillow, but I'm including this one instead, because Mommy May said it made her heart melt into a puddle on the floor:

I guess it is true that mommies have to love their children... even when they drool!

Work Hard, Play Hard...

I've written a few posts about some challenges we've had at home since Mommy May went back to work, so, for now, Mommy May has cut back her days at work so she can spend more time with me. Even though she didn't have to go in for the whole day, she had a morning meeting today, so she took me with her!! By now, you all know that I am a baby who loves to sleep. I generally sleep from 7:00 pm (or earlier) until 8:00 am (or later), waking up just a few times to eat. So this is how I felt about having to get up early with Mommy May:

Grumpy morning aside, Mommy May and I actually had a completely wonderful day. I was adored by all at Mommy May's school, of course, and I even got to meet some of her students! Afterwards, we stopped by the mall so Mommy May could finish putting together her outfit for the upcoming wedding. (More to come very soon on that topic!!!)

I was undeniably good the whole time, as always, and I managed to fit in 3 pretty long naps while we were out on the town, or, as Nani likes to call it, "out measuring the streets." Once we got home, I spent some time playing in my walker, and I have already learned how to move myself around the kitchen:

After a fun-filled day of work and play, Mommy May and I took a nice, long afternoon nap together. It was wonderful! But the best part of the day, at least from Mommy May's perspective, was that I nursed without complaint the entire day! What nursing strike? I nursed while we were out, while we were home, and even at bedtime! I hadn't done that in quite some time.

Mommy May credits the new bottle system she got me, and I would have to agree that it has certainly helped. I had only ever used Dr. Brown's bottles, which Mommy and Daddy May chose to help prevent tummy troubles. They never imagined that I might end up preferring my baba to breastfeeding, though. So, after some research, they switched me to The First Years Breastflow bottles. The bottles are designed to mimic breastfeeding, and I have to latch on and use compression--just like nursing!

I have to admit that I resisted the bottle change at first; after all, the other bottles were so easy and comfortable. But, from the first day with the new system, I started to resolve my nipple confusion and had less trouble breastfeeding. Now, it seems, we are totally back on track! Yay!! Thanks, Mommy May, for not giving up without a fight.

Honored Guests...

We had some very extra-special visitors this weekend... my Uncles Trav and Trevor!! I was very, very happy to meet them, though you can't really tell that from this picture:

Mommy May took that picture a little before bathtime, so I was hovering on the line between content and grumpy. Before the photo, though, I had been smiling and visiting quite happily. Both Trav and Trevor were quite impressed with my cuteness, as well as how big I am already! They also brought me the cutest pair of lion slippers! Uncle Trav said he wanted a pair for himself, but I don't think they make them in big boy sizes:

Last but not least, Uncle Trav read me my bedtime story. He read me Goodnight, Moon--which is one of my favorite books already!


I wish that I had more time to visit with them, but at least I get to see them again soon when we head up to Vancouver for their wedding day!

See you soon, guys... for now, goodnight noises everywhere!!!

Happy B-day...

Today is my Daddy May's birthday!! Nani stayed over for dinner while I had my last afternoon nap, and, when I woke up, we all sang Happy Birthday to Daddy May. Mommy May baked and decorated a cake for him, and, if you look carefully, you can see that the colors of the flames match the candles:


Pretty cute, huh? I'm still too young to have cake, but I did help Daddy May blow out the candles:
My present to Daddy May was a card and a video game (Lego Batman) that I plan to play a lot once I get old enough. Both Mommy May and Nani got Daddy May some new tools, which made him pretty happy. But, let's be honest, we all know he liked my present best!

My BFF...

This weekend--which was EXCELLENT--held many firsts for me!! I have recently been taking much more of an interest in toys, so Daddy May started digging out a few of my many toys that had been packed away for our move. There was a set of toy keys, some finger puppets, a couple rattles, and, best of all, my new best friend! Here I am, hugging my monkey:

Who knew a 3-month-old knew how to hug? I did, silly!

I spent much of the day hugging and chewing on my little monkey; luckily, he didn't seem to mind at all! I insisted on spending the whole day with him, during play time, nap time, and even when we went out to run errands. We also talked lots and lots and shared all of our secrets, as you can see here:

While we're on the subject of toys, Mommy May also got me some cool new gear this weekend. For my first few months, I spent most of my "hang out" time in my bouncer or my swing. At first, that was all I needed. Recently, though, as I have gotten better and better at holding my head up, I have really been wanting to sit up straighter!! I also really like to stand (with lots of help, of course!) and push myself up with my legs. When Mommy May was a baby, she spent lots of time running around in her walker. In fact, she told me she learned to walk even before she learned to crawl! Yin-Yin was also telling us that Daddy May used to love bouncing around in his jumper. Mommy May wasn't sure which one I would like better, so she ended up getting me both. Thanks, Mommy May!! Here I am in my new jumpster:

I still need some help and support to manuever this contraption, but I am taking it very seriously, learning how to bounce myself, turn around, and push up with my feet. It's been a blast! I also like my walker, though, for now, it's really more of a supportive seat for me, where I can sit up straight and be a part of all the action here at home.

Last but certainly not least is my light-up bear. If you take another look at my first monkey picture, there's a white teddy bear up in the corner. That was a gift from one of my relatives, sent before I was even born. Daddy May broke it out recently, and I find it mesmerizing. There's a button on the paw that, when pressed, makes the bear light up from the inside, slowly cycling through different colors. It's totally trippy! For the most part, the colors are beautiful pastels... every once in a while, though, the lights cycle through red, which makes my bear look just a little bit evil. I don't mind, though. We have realized that the soothing lights really help me fall asleep. Tonight, after Mommy May fed me one last time and Daddy May read me a story, they put me to bed, sleepy and awake, and turned on the bear. With no complaint, no tears, I settled down to watch the light show and wait for sweet dreams.

Baba or Bust...

Have you ever felt particularly ornery and refused to do something, even if--or perhaps because--it was best for you? Well, that's what happened to me a few days ago when I decided to go on a nursing strike. What's that, you ask? Well, it's just what it sounds like: I suddenly refused to breastfeed and only wanted to drink from my baba. Now, this wasn't a happy choice or anything... in fact, Mommy May and I were both quite miserable about it.

Mommy May has been feeling more than a little stretched and stressed out since going back to work, and this just about put her over the edge. Mommy and Daddy May started training me to drink from a bottle (my baba) since I was about a month old. Mommy May nursed me whenever she was home, but she wanted me to be ok with drinking from a bottle once she went back to work. Everything went along very smoothly at first. They were a little worried about something called nipple confusion, but I seemed to handle the differences just fine.

As an aside, Mommy May has been doing her absolute best to pump as much milk as possible while at work. She pumps 3 times during each work day--and 1-2 more times at home each night after I go to sleep!! Even with all that pumping, she can barely keep up with how much milk I'm drinking each day while she's gone. She says she was getting more and more stressed out with each pumping session, and then I suddenly didn't want to breastfeed anymore with her on the weekends. To make up the difference, we decided to pick up some formula that Lila's mommy recommended, but that stuff was nasty!! It smelled gross, and I can tell you from experience that it also tasted gross!! I was having none of it. That, gentle readers, was the last straw for my beleaguered Mommy May.

Mommy May talked to a lactation consultant at Kaiser, and the nurse had lots of good advice for us. She recommended that Mommy May carry me around in a sling, take a warm bath with me, nurse while walking around (no easy feat, I can tell you!), and feed me while I was sleepy or just waking up. Most of these things worked to some degree at different times, and, after a few days, we started to move back to our normal routine. We even tried a different formula (Similac Advance with EarlyShield), and I didn't mind it at all! For the most part, I am happily back to nursing when I'm with Mommy May and drinking breastmilk or formula while she's working. I have to admit that I really like my routine of nursing with Mommy May during the morning and at night and drinking from my baba during the day. I guess you can call me a creature of habit.