Sleepless Early Mornings

This morning, Bronwen decided she was tired of slumbering around 3:30 am. This is highly unusual. She usually sleeps until at least 6 (not counting waking to be fed). So I fed her, per the usual, thinking she would fall blissfully back into the sleep of babes, but no such luck. The eyes popped open and she was ready for action. Action for babies to adults means cooing at them in a high pitched voice until they laugh and blow drool bubbles. Super-cute unless it's 3:30 am. I am beginning to think that "action" for babies means much more...like donning a grass skirt and singing Don Ho tunes, at least that was the energy level I was getting from her pre-dawn.

I was not cooperating, thinking I could "fool" her into being tired. So I held her and "modeled" sleeping (ie--tried to fall back asleep while holding a wide-awake baby who wanted to dance on a tabletop wearing a lampshade.) Bronwen, being highly advanced of course, kicked and thrashed about to show her displeasure at my flimsy ruse. I tried to feed her some more--doesn't milk have that stuff like turkey to transport people into the land of nod? But alas, once again, this did not work for a baby who was ready to don a toga and do milk jug stands. (Sorry, I can't pretend my baby drinks. That's just messed up) At this point the clock struck about 4:30, and I was thinking to myself, "Self, I wish TJ was awake." (cut me some slack, okay? I was fricking TIRED.) Low and behold, he turns over and kind of sits up. Now, along with my wish, I happened to, erm, turn on a light, so that MAY have contributed a bit to his sleep disturbance, but I'll just call it "divine intervention" for now.

Naturally, I do what all people do at night that is utterly ridiculous, I said to him, "Honey, are you awake?" Apparently even in the night TJ was one step ahead of me; he turned back over, and didn't answer. I refused to be ignored! I poked him in the back, "Honey, ARE YOU AWAKE?" I believe I got a mutter, and I saw my attempts at tricking him were futile. Bronwen, meanwhile was laughing at me. Damn she's cute, but I digress.

The guilt prompted me to turn off the light, after all, TJ had to go to work and support us and all, so the light went off, his snores deepened, I adjusted the baby in my arms, told her she's tired. She wasn't buying it, as in her mind she was wanting to do the "Cell Block Tango" from the musical Chicago . (Yes, my baby is advanced and well rounded).

Things go on like this until 5:30 when I got out of the bed with the baby, sat on TJ and said, "Aren't you AWAKE NOW?!?" Hey--he needed to get up in 15 minutes anyhow, okay? A girl reaches a saturation point! He took the baby and I proceeded to get some rest. "Rest" meaning I had a couple of weird dreams, one about TJ taunting me with proofs of pictures we had taken of the baby that haven't come in yet, but that is another story...

*tense shift from past to present*

Currently, Bronwen is sleeping peacefully, I am downing coffee, and have a cat on my lap. A cat who, when I tried to sleep with the baby, meowed pitifully because she wanted attention. Attention for cats means curling up in "mom's" lap while she types a pointless blog on Myspace. Hey! I can oblige.


PS--God, thank you for coffee.

Finally Blogging for Bronwen

TJ has been on my case for months now (approximately 3.5) to start and maintain a blog about our Bronwen, and finally the time has come to officially begin. I don't think he realized that the first few weeks were (and still are) a blur, with recovering from childbirth and adjusting to a new human being in our lives; add to that the fact that she just didn't do very much. I read recently where Angelina Jolie commented that Shiloh was kind of a "blob" and got criticized pretty harshly for her statement. Well, I have to agree, although I would never refer to my baby as a blob. Just kind of a moving mass of arms, legs, and poo, who would sometimes cry, sometimes sleep, but never much of either.

At first.

Now she is blob no more!

Oh, add to that we have also settled into our routine, and I have at last found a few moments during the day to carve out a blog about what is a-happenin' here at the St. Romains. I mean, really, I don't have to go to the bathroom or eat. Seems one problem takes care of the other quite nicely!

To catch everyone up, a brief recap:

5/13/07 Baby born 12:05am Mother's Day 8 pounds, 15 ounces

5/15/07 Baby is brought home from the hospital, a bit impatiently by some (ahem, TJ)

5/17/07 Bronwen has first doctor's appointment, has lost a bit of weight but is a fine baby indeed. The prettiest the doctor has ever seen in all his years of practice. Okay, maybe he didn't say that, but he thought it.

5/31/07 Bronwen has second doctor's appointment, weight 9 pounds 5 ounces.

6/2/07 Belly button stump falls off-No, we did not keep it. Ew.

7/1/07 Aunt Jana comes to visit and can't stop talking about how funny the baby is.

7/13/07 Bronwen goes to the doctor for 2 month checkup and receives 4 shots. The horror! It was awful. I think I cried more than she did. She now weighs over 13 pounds and is in the 95th percentile for her weight. I knew she was going to be in the top of her age range! (despite having such a skinny daddy)

Sometime in July, she started controlling her head better--every day it gets stronger.

7/20/07 First airplane trip! Bronwen was an angel--no crying! Everyone loved her, naturally. Mainly because she wasn't crying.

August--She has better control of her hands, and is now using them to grip and slowly, and a bit clumsily, bring things to her mouth.

8/18/07--Baptised and joined "the club."

Currently: Bronwen is grabbing at everything, but not quite smoothly. She loves looking at the cute baby in the mirror, and smiles and laughs to stop the baby from crying. Works every time. Of course the usual eating, drooling, and pooing still apply, and I'm sure they will for her entire lifetime, although, (obviously) not using the same methodology. She naps a few times a day and doesn't sleep through the night, but that is okay by me; we take a nice afternoon nap together each day. I am so lucky that I am able to spend so much time with her. She is such a joy, and we are so lucky to have a sweet, easy-going girl!