Wow! Four weeks have blazed by in a blur of sleepless, frantic excitement. Every day its something new.
Lately the theme seems to be belly aches. They are keeping poor Arwen up at all hours and I fear she joins us in the ranks of maybe not getting enough sleep. We’ve tried a couple tactics. Mylicon, which is a chemical based something or other that seems to work 40% of the time, so that leads me to believe that it is specific in its function. Gripe Water, an all natural alternative containing sodium bicarbonate, ginger, anise and a few other herbs. I would say that works less than 35% of the time. And we’ve also tried doing nothing at all, rather trying to relax her, rub her belly and talk to her. That is really hit or miss. She will definitely be a champion eater. When all of the above won’t work she finally says in her special way, “Feed me.” The theory, I’m guessing, is to get so full that it comes out one end or the other, thus ridding her of the offending substance. Sometimes these fits can last hours, or so it seems. Being a champion eater myself I know that some times you just have to power through these things and hope it all works out. Never would’ve thought it was hereditary.
spyMommy is recovering nicely. Almost daily now we are walking 2+ miles with spyBaby and dogs in tow. The dogs, however curious and gentle with the new addition to the household have noticed a difference in temperament and attention they receive. This makes me feel bad, and I feel even worse when I’m forced to scold or correct them when they are asking for more attention.
spyMommy is experiencing some back pain. My guess is that it’s a triple threat she’s up against. She has to deal with the bad posture nursing forces on her, the lack of sleep (the sleep she does get seems to rarely be in a proper bed) and there is also the issue of increased forward mass. As Homer Simpson once said, “Gravity’s a harsh mistress”.
This morning or yesterday afternoon I noticed that the spyBaby server suffered a crash and a backup kicked in. This was very scary. All the settings for the blog reverted to default and there was a 10 minute window of absolute terror while I tried to retrieve the database. As you can see, I figured it out and was able to get everything back.
There are a score of pictures waiting to be uploaded, I just haven’t got around to it yet. I also promised to post the recipes from spyMommy’s family’s visit. I apologize for the delay.
spyBaby’s musical tastes are becoming a little more discriminating. She doesn’t like Bach (my heart sinks), she seems to like some synthpop (Echo Image is what I think spyMommy is playing for her at night, though she kind of cringed at the new VNV, can’t blame here there) and most forms of rock seem to turn her stomach. Trip-hop, trance-pop and acid jazz she seems to be indifferent towards. Mozart’s symphonies and concertos, along with a selection of Beethoven’s symphonies still seem to be her favorite.
She has grown… a lot! It’s crazy to see. I suggested that we set her in a specific spot everyday, perhaps with something to indicate scale, and take her picture. I really need to get on that. I think in a couple years it would make an excellent time lapsed video.
She seems to be more interested in the world around her, but still not comprehending any of it. That must be a wonderful feeling. It reminds me of the scene 300 miles above the lost planet of Magrathea, located somewhere in the Horse Head Nebula, when a Sperm Whale was spontaneously brought into existence by the Infinite Improbability Drive. [See: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy]
Although this is merely the the forethought of thinking about talking a walk that becomes a longer journey, I am loving it.