Getting into the Routine

Week two of being back at work has come and gone. Claire is now 14 weeks old and changing daily. Its 2009 and I can hardly believe it.

Our household is slipping into a routine after months of change. If you know Josh and I, this doesn't surprise you. We are incredibly predictable when it comes to our daily habits. This was actually became a joke when I was working at Tachometry. I arrived at 8:03 daily, it didn't matter if I left my house at 7:57 or 7:50 or 7:45. I grabbed a snack at 10, left for lunch at 12, returned from lunch at 1:03 and was out the door and headed home at 5. Josh and I function well in routine - we are more productive and relaxed with routine. So, I am thankful that we are falling into routine with Claire. We are learning to read her signs and cues and help her get her own schedule going.
Claire began sleeping in her own room two weeks ago. I am adjusting to life with the baby monitor and learning what sounds merit a visit to the room and what sounds I can "ignore" and return to sleep. Josh reads to her each night as I put Claire to bed. Its strange how our roles in her life evolve and I'm feeling more and more parentish every day. I remarked to Josh the first time we put her down and then returned to our evening together that today I really feel like a parent. I think going back to life together after Claire goes to sleep and getting household chores done makes me think of my family growing up and therefore, more like a parent.

Claire has many faces, I've capture just a few of them below.

Sick as a dog...

Upon waking up yesterday morning, Josh and I discovered that we were both feeling pretty crummy. Within twenty minutes of one another we were presenting the same symptoms. The conclusion? The Flu or Food Poisoning. With no fever and the the onset of the symptoms being identical and literally within minutes of one another we concluded food poisoning. I'll leave the details to your imagination.

Being down for the count with a child in the house brings out a whole new set of challenges. We decided to divide and conquer. Josh also has a cold which we are trying to keep Claire from catching so he took Lola, I took Claire. It was a long day. Fortunately Claire is still in a stage where she will sleep a lot if things are low key around the house so sleep she did which allowed us to rest and move as little as possible.

I am thankful yesterday is over. I am trying to figure out how those with multiple children work the whole sick thing. I have new admiration.

A check up

Today Claire and I went to her two month check up. We were lucky enough to have the company of my grandmother. We did have to correct a few people who assumed that Grandma was Claire's grandmother. They were astonished to find out that no, it was her GREAT-grandmother. I think it was the girl at whole foods who commented, "oh wow...you look great." I quite agree.

Alright, I digress. So Grandma, Claire and I went to the doctor. I was a little apprehensive about the experience because we were going to be giving Claire her first vaccinations and Josh and I have decided to do an alternate schedule. I wasn't sure how the doctor would feel about that. While he seemed to prefer that I do the regular kaiser schedule, after a brief talk on the benefits of vaccinations and their safety he agreed to the vaccines that Josh and I had previously decided to give her.

Claire was a champ at the doctor. Her eyes got really wide during the shot and she let out a little "aah" but that was it for the crying. Currently she is dozing in her swing hopefully feeling relatively little pain as she has been given baby tylenol. She weighed in at 10lbs 14 oz and 23 inches. So she's gained about three pounds and two inches since birth...go girl!