Mira smiles with her... nose?

Mira's been doing this funny thing where she smiles by squinching up her nose. Observe.

Normal smile:

Squinchy-nose smile:
And then there's this. Not sure what that is...

Doorway bouncer

Yesterday was another long day of Mira not feeling good and needing lots of reassurance. When Brian got home he could tell that I was feeling depleted. And really the problem was that my patience was all used up. Which is actually a hard place for me to get to; I normally have an abundance of patience especially with children. Anyway, Brian told me to get out of the house for a bit to rejuvenate. So I went and sat at a coffee shop and read for 2 hrs. When I got home, he had folded some laundry, done the dishes, fed the dogs, and given the baby a bath. What a man! And I felt totally refreshed, so that was nice.

Today Mira is feeling a little better (thank goodness), and so I thought we could do something new and try out her doorway bouncer. She liked it for about 10 minutes. Just long enough for me to snap some super cute photos. Getting her in and out was kind of a trick, though... guess that takes practice. The little feet never seem to go where you want them to. And just when you think you have it all lined up perfect, she kicks or squirms and then it's back to page 1. Silly girl. Anyway, I finally got her in it and bounced her up and down a few times to show her what it was all about. Her eyes got really big (if you've met her you know just the way they do), and then she smiled up at me. So I let her go at it while I grabbed the camera. She didn't really do much bouncing on her own; I think that will come with practice. But as she kicked her feet against the floor she turned herself around and swung back and forth a little. I don't think that she recognises that she can control her movements in it just yet though. But yeah, definitely something that we'll have to do again.

Tough day.

Poor Mira had a hard day today. She slept alot, but when she was awake she was just unhappy. She needed alot of reassurance. Her temperature was normal, so I don't think she's sick. And I tried several different activities to distract her, but nothing worked, not even going outside or for a car ride or even over to Gramma's house. I hope she's ok tomorrow...

Being inclusive

I'm finding that I'm getting better about including Mira in whatever it is I need to do. When she was first born, I'd wait till she was sleeping to do a lot of things. Like chores, working out, reading, blogging, showering, making phone calls, or eating. But as she started sleeping less and less during the day, I was growing more and more frustrated about not finding enough time to do the things I wanted/needed to do for myself or the house. Finally, I had a revelation: I was just going to have to find a way to multi-task. So I started with my morning shower. Instead of trying to shower super quick while she slept and praying that I wouldn't step out of the shower to hear a crying baby, I tried putting her in her bouncy seat and taking the seat into the bathroom. Now we play peek-a-boo behind the shower curtain and Mira thinks it's super funny when Mommie has her head all covered in shampoo suds.

Since discovering that I can multi-task in the shower, I've been finding more ways to include Mira in my activities. When I work out, she sits in her swing and I make funny faces at her while I jump around the living room doing my aerobics. When I do the dishes, she sits in her bouncer and watches. I can do the laundry while she is doing tummy time. I can read a book while she nurses. I prop her up so that she can see out the window while I check my email and read blogs. She sits at the table with me while I eat and I explain the way I use utensils and she marvels at the way things seem to disappear into my mouth.

It all seems so easy now and so obvious, to just do everything that I need to do, but *with her* rather than alone. But I remember not so long ago being in a place where I felt like the only time I could do anything for me was when she didn't need anything, and the only time she didn't need anything was when she was asleep. I even felt guilty sometimes for not giving her 100% of my attention. I'm so glad that I have realized now how rediculous that is...

Too many nicknames?

I have so many nicknames for Mira. I call her sweetie pea, pretty girl, sugar bear, my love, ... and oh yeah, sometimes I even call her Mira. I've been wondering if all these nicknames are confusing her. Or at the very least, prolonging the amount of time it will take her to learn her own name. Should I cut back and stick to only one nickname? Cuz I couldn't do away with all of them... picking just one to use would be hard enough. And I refuse to do away with nicknames alltogether because I had a nickname that my dad called me growing up* and I loved (and still love) the nickname. It was (and still is) endearing and sentimental to me. But I'm wondering if I'm using too many for her to identify with one. Maybe I'm thinking about this way too hard...

*The nickname my dad used for me was chicken lips. Why? I have no idea. What are chicken lips anyway? Again, no idea. Do chickens even have lips? Absolutely not.

Conflicts of Interest

So, I've got a rather more serious question to ask the readership; how do *you* balance the overwhelming desire to be around your child; with the need to support them and your careers?

I know walking that line is at it's core - each parents dilemma. But I'm a fan of learning from others when it is possible to do so. And I ask - how did you strike your balance? What kinds of choices stand out for you?

Perhaps it is not a wise idea to put everything you can reach into your mouth.

As I've discussed in a previous post, Mira has been shoving her hands into her mouth. This eventually graduated to experimentation with fitting her entire fist in there. Apparently she has become tired with gagging herself on her fist and now thinks it is great fun to grab her clothing and chew on that. If she is wearing a dress, I pull it out of her mouth no less than 200 times a day. See below.

It's gotten to where, if she's not wearing something that she can get into her mouth, she will now grab her foot and attempt to bring that up to her face.

Well, today as Mira was waking up from her nap she discovered why it may not be wise to put everything you can reach into your mouth. I swear this was entirely candid.

Busy busy busy

Mira and I had a very busy day today. We got up in the morning and did our normal morning routine: check the weather, dress the baby, nurse, eat breakfast, workout, shower, dress. Then we prepared a picnic lunch for Brian and us. The building that Brian works in has a really nice courtyard and the weather was pretty today, if a bit warm.

After lunch with Brian, Mira and I went to run some errands: bank, Lowe's, coffee shop. Then we met my mom downtown and went to the farmer's market. I got some basil and oregano and some tabouli. My mom picked up some tomatoes and some cheese. Then we dropped in on my cousin, A, who has a boy who is a year old, N. N liked watching Mira nurse. Being adopted, he'd not been nursed by A. He thought it was so interesting that he decided he'd like to try it and went up to A and bit the front of her shirt. Then he got his baby doll out and showed us how to hold a baby... for about 0.2 seconds before shoving the doll into my mom's hands and running off to play with his toy tractor. N is a real man's man. There's only so much of this "baby care" bologna he can put up with. When we finally got home, we made dinner, then bathtime and Mira passed out an hour early which gave me a convenient break which I will now use to *gasp* read a book that has zero illustrations and absolutely nothing to do with babies.

Mira's a chatterbox.

Lately Mira has been really working out her vocal chords. At least once a day she gets into a talkative mood and just sits there and coos at me for like 15 minutes or so, which is a surprisingly long time for a 3-month old to do *anything*.

I love listening to her talk. To me, it's the most adorable thing in the world. I'll mimic her sounds for her. She's making lots of vowel sounds with the occasional "g" or "h" sound interjected.

This morning we were listening to some new music that I got for Mira. It's this great band called Lunch Money. The singer's voice is so happy and the lyrics are totally cute. The songs are all very melodic and enjoyable for me as well as for Mira, not too syrupy if you know what I mean. Anyway, Mira was really liking the music. (I know because she was actually not fussing through tummy time, which never happens.) So I snatched her up and started dancing with her. She loved it... so much that she had her first full-blown giggle while we were dancing. I can't believe the effect that had on me... tears of joy litterally. So now it's like I'm mommying with a new vigor, trying to do everything in my power to get that little giggle out again.

My baby is like crack and I'm a total junkie.

Bounce!

Yesterday Mira and I spent the afternoon with my parents. Gramma Donna was helping Mira to bounce.