A Rough Day

I left this morning at 630am and walked in at 745pm. I didn't see Belle at all today. I rubbed her tush when I got home, but I didn't want to kiss her for fear that I would wake her. This is a tough day.

Dad, got any insights?

States

Craig asserts that Belle has also been in Rhode Island because we drove through it from Boston to New York. Seren respectfully disagrees.

Belle's first musical

We visited White Plains High again today. First we said hello to the WPHS English Department. Belle enjoyed seeing new faces and I loved being back at school among my wonderful, friendly, supportive colleagues. Then we saw a dress rehearsal of the school musical "Into the Woods." Belle was a doll during the performance. She napped for most of it, but was pleasant when she was awake. From Shakespeare to Sondheim, Belle will hopefully grow to enjoy theatre.

And they're off...

...the socks, that is.  Now that Belle has found her feet, she often finds pulling her socks off to be entertaining.  I'm on it, though, and will make sure her feet are nice and warm this winter.

5 months, 6 states

Belle has visited six states (seven if we count our drive through Rhode Island en route to Long Island from just south of Boston, though she was asleep for most, if not all, of the drive along I-95):

1. New York
2. New Jersey
3. Connecticut
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. Massachusetts

Belle is one well-traveled baby!

Belle loves her feet

Belle has found her feet and enjoys grabbing her toes whenever she can.

Belle is 5 months old

Babies are Gorges

Three Cornell men and their little girls:

Steve Mancini with 7-month-old Shirley; Craig Cepler with 5-month-old Belle; Steve Forti with 1-month-old Claire. Oh, how the times have changed now that these Cornell men have put aside their beer cans and picked up baby bottles.

"High above Cayuga's waters" there were three great dads...

Belle and Great-Grandma Maxine

Cute in her disappointment

The 19 inches of fresh snow in Central Park mean we Tri-Ceps are still in NYC and not visiting Grammy, Grampy anf Great-Grandma Maxine in Avon. Though extremely disappointed, Belle still looks like a doll.

Even Mommy has to Sleep

Seren is truly a mommy star. She wakes up countless times during the
night to re-pacify Belle or to nurse her. Then, because I leave so
early in the morning, she is often up by 7 or so to handle whatever
may happen. Seren doesn't nap however and for whatever crazy reason,
she waits until I go to sleep before she does. She also pumps late at
night right before bed.

Yesterday, we were both exhausted. I was home early so I suggested
that she nap. Seren declined my offer.

Last night, I went to sleep around 9. After midnight, I slept on the
couch until around 6. Seren got into bed after I was out cold. She
fed Belle twice and woke up with me around 6. She went back into bed
at 7, slept until 8, fed Belle and went back to sleep by 9. She then
slept until 1145. I think Seren needs her sleep. I'm glad I can
sometimes give it to her.

Except now she's feeding again.

Belle is all packed

Belle is packed and ready for her trip to New England. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

My Precocious 21-week-old

Belle seems to forget, or not realize, that she is not quite five months old.  She is nearly sitting up on her own, loves standing (while being supported, of course) and rolls around as if she has somewhere better to be.  I put her in her bouncy sit and she sat up in it.  She even figured out how to tuck her head under the arc of dangling toys so she could lean forward and touch her toes.  Later in that same bouncy seat, she nearly wiggled her way out of her seat belt to almost stand up in her seat.  And on the playmat, Belle ignores the boundaries and just rolls and rolls and wiggles and moves.  Slow down, Belle!

A peaceful morning

Belle and I sat on the couch and watched the snow fall outside.  It was nice to be inside snuggling on this cold morning.  While the snow fall was pretty, Belle's face watching the snow was more interesting to me.

Put down your phone or get off the sidewalk

Drivers get tickets for driving on the cell phone, and there are great ad campaigns warning us about the dangers of texting behind the wheel. Well, it's nearly as dangerous, or at least as annoying, when pedestrians text while walking. "Dude, stop texting or get off the sidewalk!" New Yorkers, please either pull over or stay to the far right when you are playing with your phone on the sidewalk. Thank you.

Belle stays bundled in bed on this cold day

Happy, drooly Belle

Belle and Daddy played together this morning while Mommy slept.  A good time was had by all.

A shower sensation

Belle attended a baby shower today in anticipation of meeting her new friend currently blooming in my friend's belly. Belle napped exceptionally well (so well that we were nearly late to the shower) so she was in a particularly happy and smiley mood at the shower. She smiled at all of the friendly faces she met and happily went from person to person. Belle especially enjoyed playing with the two-year-old, and Belle was quite helpful in giving the guest-of-honor's mother a chance to practice being a grandma.







As the guest-of-honor/mommy-to-be noted, it was welcomed and appropriate to hear cute baby noises at a baby shower. Well, Belle enjoyed herself so much that she wore herself: she fell asleep and missed the opening of the presents and then proceeded to nap on the car ride home. It was a lovely day!

Belle holds her own bottle

A+D milestone

We've reached a milestone in terms of tuschy care: we finished the one-pound container of A+D skin protectant with which we cover Belle's adorable bum each time we change her diaper at home.  I bought the container of A+D a week and a half before Belle was born when I went on my two-hour (nearly $200) nesting shopping spree at Target.  And now that Belle is nearly five months old, we finally finished that first container.

The blame game

It's hard not to take it all personally. Being a mom, I mean. It's hard not to immediately blame myself for anything slightly imperfect about my daughter.

Our neighbor's younger child is struggling with language; the little girl does not have the vocabulary (in terms of quantity of words) that her older brother had when he was her age. Our neighbor's reaction? She blames herself. She fears that she is busier with her second child and isn't talking to her as much as she talked to her first child. The mom thinks that if she could put more energy into her daughter then the child would talk more. But each child is different and there are a dozen other reasons why our neighbor's daughter would develop differently than her older brother. And yet, the mother blames herself.

So, when Belle came home from the hospital after being born and she had an eye infection, I asked our pediatrician, while she was writing Belle's prescription for eye medicine, if I could have infected Belle's eye accidentally. Though the doctor assured me it wasn't my fault, I still wondered what I could have done differently to have prevented the minor infection. And when Belle developed a small bought of diaper rash, I assumed it was something I had done that made her adorable little tuschy so red. Yes, she developed the rash after our trip to Florida when 1)the weather was different 2)she used different wipes and butt cream for the first time and 3)she started sleeping for longer stretches and therefore not getting her diaper changed while she was sleeping. But, still, I should have done something to prevent the diaper rash. Then I endured a painful breast infection in early January. Besides the great discomfort I experienced, I found a drastic drop in my milk supply which resulted in a small weight-loss for Belle (wait, I should be losing weight and not Belle!). How could I not blame myself for this? I inadvertently put my poor, tiny, helpless yet adorable baby girl on a diet at age four-months. When the pain subsided such that I no longer cred through nursing, I cried thinking about Belle's frustration in not getting enough food from me. I just felt terrible.

I am around teenagers enough to know that we moms don't have to blame ourselves: as our children grow they are quick to place the blame us themselves. But cranky teens aren't the only ones who accuse moms of being the weight holding children down. Experts used to attribute certain mental disorders in young people to their mothers' shortcomings. The term 'refrigerator mother' emerged to describe mothers whose coldness, lack of affection, or indifference towards their babies resulted in children, adolescents, or young adults with challenges, such as autism. Bruno Bettelheim was especially adamant that a mother's attitude toward and treatment of her infant greatly influenced his development. These well-published, well-respected development theorists explained mental deficiencies by blaming the mothers. These theories have been disproved and refuted, but perhaps they lay the groundwork for mothers to blame themselves for their children troubles.

So, I know this, and I know that it is totally a waste of energy to bother blaming myself for all of Belle's (thankfully minor) troubles. But, still. This is just one of the many reasons why it's hard to be a woman in this world.

Reaching for the stars (and everything else...)

Belle has developed the skill to reach out and grab things. She mostly pulls items toward her mouth once they're in her grip, but her reach and grasp are quite impressive! She can pull the plastic handle on her bouncy seat that makes the 30-second song play. She can hold onto the toys and stuffed animals on her playmat. She can remove my glasses and pull my shirt collars (the days of necklaces and dangling earrings on over for now). She can reach out for the pacifier when it is presented to her, but she can't quite get it into her mouth the right way (she often tries furiously to suck on the side of the pacifier that is usually flush against her face since she can't quite get the sucking part toward her lips). Belle is even able to reach up, grab and pull away the modesty apron (or 'hooter hider, as her father so delicately calls the contraption I wear to cover myself when I am nursing Belle in front of others), as if to say, "Hey, everybody: here are my mom's boobs!" But I'll tolerate that because now, when I hold her, she holds me back, resting one of her tiny beautiful hands on my collarbone while the hand holds onto my arm.

In addition to her abilities to reach and grasp and move and manipulate things with her hands, Belle, as most babies do, has become flexible. She can touch her toes, and loves reaching her left hand to her right foot and vise versa. She is able to put her feet in her mouth, but currently chooses not to, to her dad's disappointment (Craig is waiting to capture the photo of Belle eating her toes).

Wonder

I would love to know what goes on in that beautiful little head of Belle's.  I so enjoy watching her look at the world with such great wonder. My favorite time to watch her face is when we ride elevators.  I imagine what it must be like for a baby:  Like at most doors, we push a button and wait for it to open.  When it does, we enter the room.  There are fun things to look at in the small room, including a bright light character that changes frequently (the floor indicator).  When the door to the room open, we are always somewhere different from where we started.  Amazing! I know Belle won't always look at the world with wonder, but I am sure am enjoying it now.

You know you're a New Yorker when...

...you see a drug bust and look around for cameras (as in, "they must filming something").

Nope- it was the real deal, complete with cops' guns drawn.

It was pretty exciting, actually, which is why I thought it was a stunt for a film. A car was driving down Lexington Avenue followed up a regular New York yellow taxi. At 86th Street, an SUV drove in front of the car in question to stopped perpendicularly to the car (parallel to 86th Street), thereby making it pretty difficult for the car to move. Then, four men in regular clothes, most of whom had badges dangling from their necks, got out of each of the two cars (he SUV and the yellow taxi that had been traveling behind said car). Most of the cops drew guns and instructed the people in the car to exit the vehicle with their hands in the air. The guys in the vehicle were brought to the taxi where they had to lean over to be patted down and handcuffed.

Does this sounds like a scene from The Wire or some cop movie? Exactly. That's why I was looking around for the camera crew. But, as I say, it was the real deal: a drug bust on the Upper East Side last Saturday afternoon.

Interestingly, earlier that day we saw filming for what may have been The Real Housewives of New York, or some other reality show. Three professional-looking cameras were following a tall, thin, gorgeous blond woman on West 96th Street.

Never a dull moment in NYC...

Cooped up inside....again...

This weather is the pits. It's cold and rainy with slushy, slippery sidewalks. This is how I feel on days like this when I can't get out of the apartment.
I was most disappointed to miss Mommy and Me Yoga. Hopefully next Tuesday...

Belle and Claire

We visited our friends Shauna, Jon and Claire. Claire is exactly two months older than Belle (born June 29, 2010). Below are pictures of Belle and Claire playing together at Claire's house. Though they are two months apart, they are nearly the same size. Claire, however, can sit up on her own (I am helping Belle sit up in these pictures) and crawl and hop like a frog (ADORABLE). It was an exciting glimpse into what is to come for Belle.







Thanks for a fun playdate, Shauna, Jon and Claire!

The Tri-Ceps at the beach

Florida: getting to and from

We missed our opportunity to "pre-board" our flight to West Palm Beach, which we are eligible for since we are traveling with an infant. Oh well. And then we missed the start of regular boarding so we finally got to the jetway, we were among the final passengers to board the plane. That meant that, as we walked to our seats in the second-to-last row of the plane, nearly every other passenger was already seated. Did Belle ever make a splash on that airplane as we made our way past the seated passengers to the rear of the plane! Friends nudged each other to point out the adorable baby coming through the aisle. Women cooed. Some reached out at touch Belle's cute dangling legs. In nearly every row, people smiled at baby Belle as her Daddy carried her through the fuselage. Any one of those dozens of Florida-bound travelers would have been delighted to sit next to us.

And then we find our seats: the two next to one of the only middle-aged men on the plane, and perhaps the only passenger who was annoyed to sit next to an infant.

Belle proved again to be a fantastic traveler. She ate and slept and played quietly on our laps and barely made a peep. While she was sitting on her father's lap, she looked at the man sitting to her left as if to say, "why don't you like me? Everyone else I've met seems to think I'm pretty cute, but you just seem to be peeved by me?"

On the flight home, we lucked out (and Craig did some fine negotiating: he is so clever sometimes) and we got a seat for Belle so we were able to bring the car seat onto the plane. And so, we three Tri-Ceps sat in a row together, Belle at the window. She slept for nearly the entire flight, which meant we could sleep and snack and take advantage of Jet Blue's fine in-seat entertainment. She woke up to eat just before we landed but hardly made a fuss from Delray to LaGuardia. She is clearly gearing up to be a world traveler.









And, thank you, Jet Blue: on the four flights we've flown with you, you've THRICE given us a free seat so that Belle can travel in her car seat.

Belle, meet a swimming pool. Pool, meet Belle...

Belle experiences a swimming pool for the first time! We walked her in such that she was wet maybe up to her knees, but she seemed to enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk5cjz7PsW0









In fact, she wore out her father:

Mini-golf

The week before I went into labor, Craig and I played mini-golf at Jones Beach. I waddled through the course, struggling to bend over and pick up the golf ball as we traveled between holes. Craig won that game- his first win over me in our long history of playing mini-golf. I blamed it on, well, being 9-months pregnant.

In Florida, we visited Boomers in Boca Raton for, not one, but TWO rounds of mini-golf. Belle was a delight while we played: she slept at the start, but woke and was happy to be outdoors and content to look around at the world while Mommy and Daddy put a round on each of the lovely courses (it was two different 18-hole mini-golf courses). She, of course, especially enjoyed smiling at other golfers, as Belle proves time and again that she is a social butterfly.









Oh, and she is always happy when she has her fingers to suck.



And it's only fair to note that Craig won both games of mini-golf. Perhaps my reign as mini-golf champion, to which I owed to my extensive field hockey experience, is over. Congratulations, Belle's Daddy.

Family in Florida

We saw newlywed cousins Sheryl and Aron Cepler who got stuck in Boca Raton to snow and ice further north. We all enjoyed a windy walk on the beach (Belle's first beach experience).




We also saw Great-Aunt Cynthia, who lives in Delay Beach all year long.


And, as an extra-special treat, we saw Levinson cousins: cousins Sunny and Bernie of Boynton Beach.

Back to reality

Back to the gym... I worked out for the first time since becoming a mom. Time to sweat and tone and get back in shape!

Classic

On our way through security at Palm Beach Airport en route home, Craig placed Belle in an X-ray bin after he had gone through the metal detector while he put his shoes on. She looked so happy and cute sitting in the bin at security that a TSA agent stopped checking carry-on bags in the X-ray machine to take a picture of Belle. I wasn't quick enough to get my camera out but I would have liked a picture of the TSA agent taking a picture of Belle. Our flight may be a little less secure for Belle distracting the TSA agent but it was classic.

Belle and Daddy

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Enjoy the snow

Belle is enduring 60-ish degree weather down here in southern Florida so she sympathizes with the Northeasterners who are being dumped upon.
And of course she will wear a sweatshirt when she goes out for lunch later with (Great-Great) Aunt Cynthia.
We sure are glad we enjoyed the pool yesterday because today is a "no pool day."
We also saw alligators and turtles and various birds yesterday at the nearby nature preserve. Belle makes friends everywhere with this smile.

Another beautiful day in Florida

Belle is looking adorable in cousin Samantha's old clothes. She's enjoying the weather and may even go to the pool. We're off to see the alligators at tje nearby nature preserve.

Hi from delray

Belle lives a tough life in delray. The weather is perfect for napping as mom and dad eat lunch in downtown delray. Aunt Cynthia stopped by before. And we're having a grand time. We're going phone shopping after lunch.

Love
Us
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Belle rolls from back to belly

Grammy and Grampy enjoy the show when Belle rolls from her back onto her belly!

Saying it with her bum

Seren asked Craig to do a sniff-test on Belle's bum this evening and she farted in his face. Maybe it was her baby-way of telling her daddy that she loves him!

Belle eats her hands

A true delicacy of the house: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po2gpSp1k3A

Moving and grooving

Belle is rolling all over and nearly crawling!  She lies on her belly and sort of scooches.  The doctor told me about this pre-crawling stage.  It is very exciting!  Belle is rolling from belly to back and from back to belly.  She is able to move herself when she is on her back and when she is on her belly so her head points in different directions.  She is so active and moving so well!  It will be hard to keep up with her soon...

Frogs in the throat

Besides calculatingly listening to Belle scream and cry, the second worst part of sleep training is hearing her sweet voice hoarse from the crying when she is finally calm. But we're getting there...

GO UCONN

Belle was so excited when the Lady Huskies created a new NCAA basketball record winning streak!



GO UCONN

Belle's Sleeping, ctd.

For the record, Belle sleeps on her side for the most part, just like her Dad who is also a side-sleeper.

Top 100 name in 2010

Here is a list of the top 100 baby names in 2010. No Belle, though Isabella, Isabel, Bella, and Annabelle are on the list.

Belle's four-month check-up

This was the first pediatrician appointment to which I went solo (well, Belle joined me, but not other adult). We did just fine! The medical assistant who measured Belle's height, weight and head circumference marveled at what a good baby Belle is. She said that she often fights with babies, especially when getting the measuring tape around their heads. Belle just smiled calmly at the medical assistant while the woman did what she had to do to evaluate Belle. Belle gained more weight than height, but she is still tall and thin and totally on target. She weighs 14 pounds (56th percentile) and is 25 inches tall (74th percentile). Her head grew quite a bit: she went from being in the 25th percentile in head circumference to being in the 47th percentile. Also, the pediatrician assured us that Belle is on track in terms of her abilities: she is rolling over well, demonstrates fantastic neck muscles, is developing strong leg muscles, and smiles wonderfully. Most notably, Belle took accepted her immunizations like a champ! She ingested one vaccine orally without a problem (she is a good eater, like her parents). Then she hardly flinched when the doctor administered a shot into her left thigh! She was so brave, much UNlike her mother. She cried a bit when she received another shot in her right thigh, but was easily soothed. I was very proud of Belle today. Now if only she would sleep more than a few hours straight...

Belly sleeping

Now that Belle can roll over, she has found it most comfortable to sleep on her side or, as she is napping now, her belly!

"Mama said..."

So, it seems that my mother may be right.  She always values sleep highly and finds it to be a cure-all.  When I was growing up, the answer to any ailment was to sleep more: "Mom, I have a headache."  "Better go to bed early tonight then, sweetie." "Mom, my stomach hurts."  "Well, then why don't you go take a nap?" "Ouch!  I twisted my ankle, Mom!"  "It's because you didn't sleep well last night, pumpkin." Well, according to the pediatrician who wrote the book that I am reading to make Belle a healthy sleeper, my mother was right.  The pediatrician/author essentially claims that any bought of fussiness is ultimately related to a lack of proper sleep.  He claims that most illnesses can be avoided by a well-rested child.  Aside from threatening that my child will grow up to be a delinquent if she doesn't get on a proper sleep schedule by her fifth month of life, he seems to agree with my mom that many existing troubles can be cured by sleeping. While I don't fully buy everything this doctor is suggesting, somehow I think that parenthood may be full of "my mother was right" moments...

Belle's December

Click the picture for the whole December album.

Here's Belle's snow day, including her nursery:

2010_12_27 - Day in NYC

Happy Four Month Birthday

Last week Belle turned four months old. Among her milestones were visits to Avon and Jericho (including her first Jericho sleep over). She celebrated cousin Aron's wedding with all of her Cepler cousins. She constantly smiles, going from smiling to sleeping back to smiling when she awakes. On her four-month birthday, Belle was so excited that she woke up at 5am and starting talking to herself. Belle also enjoys talking to herself and anyone who listens and frequently sings duets with Dad. Her favorite songs include anything from Pirates of Penzance, Do-Re-Mi and Puff the Magic Dragon. Belle's newest hobby is go down to the building lobby and watch the cars pass by on West End Avenue. She looks like she's watching a tennis match in catch-up mode (the car passes, she realizes and turns her head quickly to catch it). Belle started Mommy & Me Yoga and loves it. She's a huge fan of all the fun yoga poses. She has started sleeping in her crib, having graduated from her bassinet. And finally, her bedroom looks like a nursery, Mommy & Daddy having painted it last week.