Helen's pregnancy timeline

I finally managed to finish this little video piece for Helen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X0KQYgAHO8

Baby talk

This morning Clara begin talking.... well actually Clara was putting together a set of sounds(gurgles and aaaahs)that are definitely responsive and different. We can't have a conversation, but Clara is trying her hardest to put together a word but her little neurons in her brain that send the signals from brain to tongue don't put strings of sounds together in adult speak yet.

But with baby talk, she's doing great. Neither Helen or I speak monkey so we will just have to be watch this exciting development unfold.

11 weeks old

Post by Helen:

Baby Clara is almost 11 weeks old now!  I can’t believe how quickly
time flies.  I’ve been meaning to make a journal entry for weeks but
it’s very hard to find any time at home.  I’ve been back at work since
she was 6 weeks old.  I feel guilty on weekends since I don’t spend as
much time with her during the week so I pretty much spend 24/7 with
her on weekends.  I must admit, sometimes I feel like she’s holding me
hostage.  She’ll be holding onto me, comfort nursing, and if I try to
pull away she whimpers and starts to wake up.   On the plus side, the
old saying “sleep when the baby sleeps” means that I catch up with
sleep on the weekends.  On the down side, I don’t get anything done on
weekends (laundry, cleaning, or exercising).  Sometimes I can manage
to read a journal for work by holding it up with one hand.  I can’t
even catch up with friends on the phone because she does not like for
me to talk on the phone when I’m holding her.  I don’t know if others
have this problem or not.  I guess I should try “wearing” my baby on
the weekends (we do have an ergo carrier which is great and makes it
easy to carry her) BUT she gets hot so easily and the carrier is a bit
warm.  This morning on my way to work I could hear that she was crying
even after Jason gave her 4 ounces of breastmilk I had pumped earlier
(at 4 AM while she was still asleep—did I mention how much work it is
to breastfeed and keep my milk supply?).  I felt so bad that instead
of leaving for work, I lay down with her and let her comfort nurse so
she could get to sleep.  Fortunately I didn’t have to be at work on
time today, but it’s not going to be that way in July (my schedule
changes dramatically and I’ll have to wake up early most days to be at
work around 7:30 AM).

She sleeps well, I guess.  At night she’ll sleep from 9 to 10:30,
nurse, then sleep til 12:30 then til 7 AM or so (she’ll fuss a little
between 4 and 5 AM but I nurse her just a little and she’s right back
asleep, once she’s asleep I go downstairs to pump milk so she’ll have
some when I leave for work.)  The problem of course is that to sleep
well she has to sleep next to me.  If we put her down in her crib, she
wakes up after just a couple of hours. We have to work on getting her
to sleep on her own.  (In the long run I think she’ll sleep better
because she gets hot so easily.)

I hope none of this sounds like whining or complaining because she
really is a blessing.  She will flash a wide grin if I smile at her
(or if she pees on me or the changing table!)  She likes to be
stimulated and will pay attention when read to or sung to.  She can
stand up with support and can sit with support. (We’re even
contemplating starting to get her on the potty for #2 because she is
so predictable when she has to use the bathroom and it would seemingly
be easier to clean the potty then waste the 3 to 4 diapers she uses up
when she is doing #2).   She delights in nature and likes to go on
walks and be outdoors.  Okay, I’ll have to stop now because this is
making me miss her so much (and I’m suppose to try to get work done!)