Yesterday (Friday) was a little rough. Not so well-adjusted as Wednesday's post implied. On my last weekday of maternity leave, I was really mourning the loss of that special Claire-and-me-only time. It's crazy, and it's exactly what I experienced with Kate, but it's like I subconsciously feel like I'll never see my baby again. I told Matt yesterday morning, "I have a haircut and a few errands to run this afternoon." He replied, "oh, do you need me to keep Claire?" I was wearing Claire in the sling at the time and immediately clutched my hands around her and said, "No!! She'll be going with me." That instinctive response indicated to me how strongly I felt like I was losing my time with Claire. During nighttime feedings the past few nights, I've started to get emotional, only to remember, "hey, this part isn't changing at all! Calm down."
I got through Friday, though, and felt much better last night and today. Kate and Matt are here with Claire and I, like a normal evening or weekend (normal meaning "like it would be if I was working Monday through Friday"), and it's okay. Claire didn't up and disappear or anything. I know it sounds crazy, but it felt like I was Cinderella anticipating the stroke of midnight, only to discover with relief that everything stayed the same.
Today, we took down the Christmas decorations. We always leave them up for the full twelve days of Christmas, but it was really starting to feel overdue this time. Kate was a big help, and so Matt and I got the tree and all the other decorations down in record time. Cleaning up all the pine needles that fell was another matter, but Kate's broom and dustpan she got for Christmas was a big help!
I took both girls to the grocery, which was a milestone in itself, as I'd feared such outings immensely when Claire first came home. I didn't know how I'd ever manage to wrangle Kate in a parking lot or in and around the cart at Target or Kroger while toting Claire as well, but without fanfare, I had several excursions just me and the girls over the course of maternity leave—to playplaces, to the library, even to Target—but this was the first to the grocery, a fitting way to end my maternity leave and announce to the world that I really can handle two kids. Kate stayed in the car cart for most of our shopping, which is new, only wanting to get out and walk/hang on the side of the cart for the last five minutes of shopping, rather than while we're still in the produce section.
Since Matt got to have some alone time while we were at the grocery, he kept both girls downstairs for a while this afternoon while I scrapbooked upstairs. This is one of the pages I did. I'd had this layout sketched out for ages, having seen it on some other scrapbooker's blog more than a year ago, and I really like how it turned out.
This evening, we had an "Italian feast" of caprese, bread with dipping oil, salad, and eggplant parmasean. And red wine, of course. Dining this way every night (and sometimes for lunch too) for ten days is how Matt and I each gained about fifteen pounds on our honeymoon in Italy five years ago. At least there was no creamy pasta in this meal. Helpful hint for parents: we tell Kate that eggplant parm is "tiny pizza," and she eats it well. Plus, the marinara we use is Prego Veggie Smart.
Another random: I won this cute monogrammed romper on eBay. I love eBay for kids clothes, and especially for a boutique brand like Kelly's Kids and a monogram, making it un-handmedown-able, I would never pay full price. I even set an alarm on my cell phone so I could check the auction ten minutes before it ended, so that I could up my bid without giving the other bidders a chance to outbid me. Victory!
Lastly among the miscellanea is Claire's checkup stats, which I didn't have when I wrote her two month milestones. Turns out, she is more petite than Kate was, but still very healthy. She weighed 9 lb, 11 oz at her appointment, which was only 12th percentile. Length was 22 in, 27th percentile. Her head circumference was 74th percentile. Kate was always about 50th percentile (perfectly average) in height and weight, and 90th or higher percentile in head.
We told the doctor about Claire's voracious eating habits and frequent gassiness (stiffness, arching her back, lots of spitup, fussiness, etc.) and the doctor said it sounds like classic colic/reflux, and put her on Zantac. I remember our pediatrician mentioning the possibility of putting Kate on Zantac, but I guess it got better with her. Even the little nodes I'd been feeling on the back of her head (which I remembered feeling on Kate too and therefore didn't panic about) were related to the reflux: they are lymph nodes that get enlarged when there is a lot of liquid/agitation in the throat. We've done a couple doses of the Zantac so far, but it doesn't seem to be making a difference yet. The doctor also said a bit of chamomile tea in a dropper could ease Claire's tummy pain, but Claire spit that right out again.
So that's what's up. We'll see if I have a panic attack tomorrow night as I prepare for work the next day, but chances are, I'll be totally adjusted by Wednesday, and that's what I'm keeping in mind.
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