Life:
Time is just flying by here in our household... :)
I finally got my university application sent off, so in a few months I'll be hearing from the two universities here in town. Last year my top choice was Waterloo university, because it's one of the best in Canada, but I'll be staying in town because it's just too hard to raise a child without a support network. All my friends and family are here, and I just couldn't do it with no one to talk to.
We're still getting our routine down, but it has really been improving. I almost never have to nurse Harmony off to sleep in my bed or use the swing to soothe her to sleep at night. She is now consistantly going from 11 until 5 or so almost every night. Then she usually returns to sleep for another 2-3 hours. She is definetely not a big napper though! It's frustrating because she sleeps about 12 hours a day *total*. I'm hoping this might be just a phase until she learns how to nap without the help of a moving stroller, because it's really hard to get things done around here! She required the same amount of sleep that I do during the night, and then only allows me a couple hours of uninterupted time during the day to get everything done.
Unfortunately, I have to spend a certain portion of my day dealing with Harmony's father through e-mail. He would like to see her this Easter weekend, but since he hasn't signed her birth certificate, has only seen her for less than 24 hours her whole life, and hasn't agreed to pay child support, I just can't allow him to see her. He has this "I can be a deadbeat dad and still get to see my daughter when it's convenient for me" attitude. He seems to feel that seeing her for a couple days every four months is enough of a contribution, but I want so much more for my daughter. He was 50% responsible in creating her, so he should take responsibility for her as well. So far he has replied to my emails with only one approach- "You're a bad mother for not letting me see Harmony. She will resent you!" My theory is that she would resent me more for letting her father treat her as a doll- something that can be played with at his convenience but be put back on the shelf when not needed. He expects me to raise her (and pay for everything), while he comes and has some fun with her every once in a while. That's not acceptable and I've been trying to explain that to him but to no avail...
I finally got a break! It had been about a month and a half since I'd been away from Harmony but on Saturday (I'm writing this journal late again...) I finally got a break. A few friends of mine came over to look after her for a while while I went to a movie with Krissie and Sarah. I worried like crazy, but I really enjoyed my free time. I was told my little angel behaved very well until after I called to say I was on my way home. I don't think she was hungry so much as tired of all that excitement of new faces and endless attention. I'll try to teach them a special way that I hold her when she's tired for next time. And if you're reading this, a big thank you goes out to "Aunty"s Cynthia, Karen and Sarah and "Uncle" Kurtis!
Harmony's Growth:
Harmony weighed 14 lbs 3 oz last Tuesday night- that's up 9 full ounces from the previous Tuesday! She is starting to outgrow a lot of her sleepers, and I'm putting stuff away to give to my grandmother's niece, who is having a baby this August (I'm so excited that Harmony and her baby will be so close in age!).
Harmony's neck control is excellent. Sometimes when you lie her across her lap, she will do little situps and then make a big fuss until you sit her up to see the world around her! She can now hold her head steady with her body while being pulled to a sitting position, with no head lag.
She still has traces of mild exema, and I'm continuing the treatment with the cream. The blisters are still on her gums. Other than those small lingering problems, she's very healthy. I'll be scheduling her four month checkup for the end of this month so I'll get to find out how long she is and how big her head circumfrence is.
"Fourth Trimester":
Just for the record, I finally got my period (I think). I still don't fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans, I still have tons of obvious stretchmarks, and I'm now only 5 pounds under my pregnancy weight (I somehow gained back 10 pounds that I'd lost after her birth!) so I doubt I'll be writing anything for this section anytime soon... :(