Crouching Tiger, Hidden Baby

One of the baby books I got was Itsy Bitsy Yoga, which gives you some stretches and poses you can do with your baby. I haven't really had a chance to dive in and try out some of the series outlined in the book, however, after glancing through a few pages, a few tricks stuck with me. One of the poses I did read about was called a "Divine Drop". In a moment of desperation (read: attack of the screaming fussy baby), I tried the Divine Drop, and you wouldn't believe it, but after doing the Drop one time, Brianne stopped crying immediately. It was actually kind of freaky.

Here I am soothing Brianne with the Divine Drop. As you can see, there is no actual dropping involved - her head, neck and back are well supported :o) What you do is hold the baby as shown, then drop down into a squat quickly. Im not sure why it works, but it hasn't failed me yet. And as an added bonus for Mommy - buns of steel!

Welcome to the Jungle

We are very lucky to have gotten so many wonderful gifts during our baby shower. Now that Brianne is getting a little older, we've been able to pull them out so she can play with them. The latest toy Brianne has been loving is her activity gym (thanks Kristy and Josh for this great gift!). It has lots of fun, brightly-colored jungle-themed toys for her to look at and practice grabbing. She can sit there for a good 45 minutes looking at everything, so lately we have been bringing it out every evening during dinner time :o)

Brianne taking a walk on the wild side! I think she is trying to have a conversation with the monkey and giraffe.

Cooper likes to bring his toys over to the mat, and have play time with Brianne.

Back to the Beginning

This week has been full of doctor's appointments, for me as well as for Brianne. For Brianne, we went back to her birth place - Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines - to get an ultrasound on her hips. At Brianne's pediatrician appointments, our doctor has been checking to make sure her hips are aligning correctly. While her right hip has aligned properly, her left hip hasn't quite gotten with the program, and is still clicking.

Brianne has a sixth sense about doctors offices, meaning, she knows as soon as she enters a doctors office and starts screaming like she's being chased by the devil. When we got to the hospital (after nearly side swiping 2 other cars while Mommy tried to park the Tahoe), Brianne actually did pretty well in the waiting room, sitting calmy and patiently (i.e. asleep). Even when the ultrasound tech started fiddling with her hips, she remained calm for another 2 minutes before realizing where she was. It was lucky for us that we had a very experienced tech who knew how to wrangle uncooperative, screamy babies.

We got the call from our doctor today with the results and she is referring us to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Don't faint just yet - Brianne doesnt need surgery, our doctor just wants a specialist to check Brianne and see what steps we can take to correct the hip issue before it gets worse. Hopefully all it will take to fix it is to put her in two diapers at a time - apparently this fixed my hips when I was a little baby.

Brianne's sixth sense about doctor's offices isn't limited to her own appointments, she also dislikes going to my doctor's appointments. I had a check up with my OB/GYN that I brought Brianne to (big mistake), and as soon as walked in the office, Brianne's screaming went from zero to sixty in 3 seconds. I think we traumatized the pregnant ladies in the waiting room (I swear I saw one lean over to her husband and mouth "what have we done??")

At the end of the day, we are both doing just fine, though I think Marty will be required to go with me to all Brianne's future appointments for moral support.

Here we are getting ready to walk into the hospital. Brianne literally started fussing as soon as we crossed the threshold of the building.

Here we are in the waiting room. I had just given her a bottle, so she was content to sit in the waiting room for a bit until the tech was ready for us.

Multi-tasker's Paradise

One of the many things parenting has taught us is the art of multi-tasking. We thought we were pretty good at multi-tasking already, however, Brianne has shown us new and interesting ways to put that skill to use.

Here is Marty talking on the phone, surfing the internet, petting the dog AND feeding the baby. No wonder he has such ADD. (Note: This is not a staged picture, he is actually doing all these things simultaneously - for real).

Brianne was being a little fussy, so I tried putting her in the sling and carrying her around so she could be close to me while keeping my hands free. Here is a picture of me assembling lasagna for dinner. Brianne is that lump in the sling (side note: And I thought a 7 lb baby was heavy. Anyone who carries and gives birth to a nine-pound or more baby deserves a medal!). Don't worry, I put her down in her Pack N Play when working near the stove or putting dinner in the oven.

Mary Had a Little Lamb Swing

One of the many fun baby items we received during our shower was a Fisher-Price Cradle N Swing. It is adorable, and oh so snuggly. And the cutest part is the head piece that looks like a lamb. When we first brought Brianne home, we tried putting her in it, but it swung so fast we thought she was going to get tossed right out of it. So it has been sitting in a spare room until recently. Now that Brianne is a little bigger (and fussier), out came the lamb swing for round 2. It still swings with a fury, but she seems to really enjoy it. And if it lets Mommy and Daddy have a few minutes to eat dinner while it's still hot, then we'll risk it (and just clip her in really good).

Brianne spending some time in her lamb swing.

Brianne is 1 Month Old!

On Monday, August 17, Brianne turned one month old! She had her one month check up the Thursday before and is doing very well. She has changed so much in the one month since she was born, it's kind of hard to believe. The little sleepy lump we first brought home is, well, still sleeping, but she is awake for longer periods of time during the day and is becoming more alert. She will follow the sound of your voice to look at you, and she is moving her head around with more control, though her neck is still a bit floppy - but there is definite improvement! She is making a wider variety of sounds, and we are enjoying her coos and squawks (it's fun to see the surprised look on her face when you mimic one of her sounds back to her).

She's also making a wider variety of facial expressions, some involuntarily but some with definite purpose. She is even starting to smile at us! We are having so much fun learning about our little person, and seeing her change by the day. I always have my camera handy since it seems like she is doing something new and different all the time!

We finally caught the elusive smile on camera!


This is my current favorite picture of Brianne. What a peanut - she is just too cute for words.

Shamu and Sea Lions and Dolphins... Oh My!

This past weekend, we went on our first weekend getaway with Brianne to Orlando to visit Sea World. I was initally a little nervous to go on a trip with Brianne and ruining her new routine, but she actually did very well. I think this was largely in part to Grandma Mimi spending time with her during the days while Mommy and Daddy got to go and enjoy some alone time. Brianne enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Marty's cousin Rosemary (we stayed at Rosemary's house), and being in close proximity to Disney World. We are easing her into the Disney experience veeery slowly :o) This visit, she got to wear a special Minnie Mouse outfit. Maybe next time, we'll drive by the exit to Disney on our way home... Brianne also enjoyed meeting her Great Uncle Don and Great Aunt Debbie (Grand-dad Steve's brother and sister-in-law) during the trip.

Mom and Dad had a lot of fun at Sea World. On Sunday, we got to meet some of their resident animals up close and personal. While we really enjoyed the experience, all we could think about was how much fun it will be to bring Brianne when she's a bit older. All in all, we had a fantastic weekend and look forward to going back to Orlando soon!

Marty getting his hand gnawed on by some sting rays. I fed them as well, and it feels like getting your hand sucked on by a vacuum cleaner. Very cool, though kind of creepy.


Here I am feeding a dolphin. Also very cool, though I was kind of freaked out to have my hand so close to its mouth!


Here is Brianne relaxing at Rosemary's house in her Minnie Mouse outfit. She tried to convince us to take her to Disney by doing a Disney World cheer routine, but we could not be swayed. Maybe next time :o)



Brianne enjoying a visit with her Great Uncle Don and Great Aunt Debbie.

So Fresh and So Clean

Now that Brianne's umbilical stump has fallen off, we can give her a real bath in her big-girl bath tub! You can see how much we like pink, even her bath tub is super girly. It was stressful for Mommy and Daddy getting her completely ready for her bath since we had to take off her diaper. We feared that we'd be getting a shower of our own before we even got her into the bathroom. Ick.

But Brianne cooperated perfectly and only cried a little bit when we set her down into the warm water, which I think was more out of shock at the new sensation. Once she got in there, she actually smiled a little bit! We weren't sure how long our no-crying luck would last, so we soaped her up and rinsed her off in record time - well, as fast as we could considering she was as slippery as a greased (but clean) piggy.

She surprised us again with staying cheerful through her whole bath. What a good girl!

On a side note to all you parents out there, I just heard that Johnson's baby products have formaldehyde in them, so we've switched to California Baby baby wash (thanks Alona and Lauren for the tip). If you dont believe me, google "formaldehyde in baby products".

No more sponge baths for me! And see what nice parents we are, covering her lady business up for the camera.

Brianne enjoying getting her hair shampooed - this is mommy's favorite part of getting her hair done too :o)

Normally, we have to chase Cooper down to get him into the bathroom for his bath, but he wanted to supervise and make sure Brianne was ok. Cooper is almost camouflaged against our white bathroom (that's him under the toilet paper).

Take a Ride on the Fuss Bus

Brianne is a fantastic baby, but every once in awhile, she decides to see how loud she can get before Mommy and Daddy want to pull their hair out. She has plenty to eat, a clean diaper, gas bubbles all burped out, lots of cuddles, but nothing can console her. That's why I think she just likes to see if she can beat her screaming record from the day before. Or maybe she just takes after Marty in that she likes to hear herself talk :o)

We are very lucky that she seems only to get fussy in the evening for a few hours, but then goes right to sleep at bed time. She has been getting into a routine of sleeping from 11:30pm to 4:00am, eating for 15 minutes, then sleeping until 7:00am. This is way better than waking up every 2 hours, though we are definitely looking forward to sleeping through the night, hopefully sometime in the near future (and before we are both completely bald from hair pulling).

Brianne on the Fuss Bus. Wow, that's a mad face.

B is for Belly Button

Great news! Brianne's little umbilical stump finally fell off this past week. It took a little bit longer to fall off than the baby books tell you is standard, so of course we were thinking it was stuck on there permanently. But with diligent alcohol swabbing, it came off when we changed her diaper. I dont think we've ever been so happy to have a part of her body fall off. Hopefully nothing else will fall off any time soon...

Meet Brianne's belly button! That little brown thing to the right of her is the umbilical stump. I am saving it so I can bring it out and embarass her in front of her friends when she is a smart-mouth teenager.

Sunny Days

It was such a nice day yesterday that we decided to take Brianne to the beach for a little bit. She enjoyed the sea breeze for awhile in the shade of a cabana, and got to wear her special tank top onesie and a cute beach hat. She didn't get to take full advantage of the beach festivities since she is too little to be out in direct sun light. She was a little bummed since she wanted to try some beach volleyball, but she contented herself to hang back and relax with Mommy and Grandma Mimi. We're looking forward to sharing beach fun with Brianne in a few months when she's big enough to enjoy it!

Brianne in her special beach hat. She's growing so fast, i'm sure it will fit her soon.


Mommy and Brianne enjoying the sea breeze.

Fun on the Flip Side

To help strengthen Brianne's little neck and back muscles, we've started doing Tummy Time. For those of you not living in 3 hour increments with a newborn, this means putting the baby on her stomach for as long as she'll tolerate it, and letting her try to move her head around to look up at you or a toy. Considering she cant hold her head up when we're assisting her, this is more challenging than one might think. But that's why Tummy Time is so important! So she can (hopefully someday soon) not be a little bobble head.

The first time we did Tummy Time, she lasted for about 4 minutes before screaming like a banshee. Cooper was so concerned about her that he brought her a toy to soothe her. It was so cute. She doesnt like Tummy Time much now, but hopefully she'll grow to enjoy it. We sure like watching her try :o)

Brianne after about a minute of Tummy Time. She actually lifted her head up to look at me, but the effort exhausted her.


Cooper brought his favorite toy to Brianne to cheer her up after she got tired of Tummy Time. It's that green thing on her blanket (it used to be a turtle before he mangled it).

No Dating 'Til She's 40

No dating 'til she's 40. This is a direct quote from Dad Marty. I'm not sure how well this will go over with Brianne, but considering she can't hold her head upright yet, I think she has more important things to worry about for the time being. This weekend, Brianne got to meet some of her buddies for the first time - Bradley DiPaolo and Cayden Barrocas. Marty had stern conversations with both boys to reinforce the "no dating" rule. We are looking forward to future play dates with Bradley and Cayden, though I think I will have to call them something else besides play "dates" so Marty doesn't get upset. Maybe something like "platonic activity time"...

Brianne and I visiting with Cayden with his mom, Barbra. They were so happy to meet each other that they instantly fell asleep.

Our friends Alona and Frank introducing Bradley to Brianne. Yes, Brianne sleeps a lot, but I think she's subconsciously enjoying meeting all her new friends.

Attack of the Eye Boogies

On Friday, July 31, Brianne turned 2 weeks old! Unbelieveable how time flies. We celebrated her 2-week birthday by going to the doctor for her 2 week check up. What an uncool mom I am, taking her to the doctor for her special day. I'll have to step up my game for the next birthday. She did very well at the doctor. She is growing like a weed and is very healthy overall. The day before, her eye was looking kind of gooey, so it was very fortunate we already had this appointment scheduled. The doctor said this was very common for babies, and prescribed eye drops and tear duct massage. Yes, tear duct massage. Apparently her tear ducts are still immature and can get clogged - learn something knew every day.

Getting situated in the doctors office - no waiting in the Waiting Room for us (not that we're special or anything, all new borns go right in so the sick kids dont infect them).


Brianne resting after getting poked and measured by Nurse Jody. No shots today, but she sure does not like the nurse and doctor invading her personal space.

Wedding Bells are Ringing

On July 24, my brother-in-law, Marc, proposed to his girlfriend Jen on top of the Empire State Building in New York City. So romantic. They actually got another tourist to film the proposal, and the funniest part of the whole video is the tourist in the background cheering Marc on (he actually drowns Marc out in some parts). We are so happy for Marc and Jen and look forwarding to having Jen as part of our family! Brianne actually passed out in her excitement for them both.

Here is Brianne buttering Marc and Jen up to pick her as flower girl :o)