Journal

Week 39

(August 20th, 1999- August 27th, 1999)

Life:

Harmony is nine months old today! I can't believe she's here already, it seems like just a couple *days* ago, I was helping her sit up by herself, and now it's like "Yeah, of course she's *crawling*". And, on the other side of things, it seems like she's always been crawling, you know? Funny how time works...

It's been a busy week, and kind of a stressful one. There were lots of different things disrupting our routine, but I think we held it together pretty well. Harmony has been really cranky this week for a number of reasons, so that's been a little tough. The weekend was good- I gave Harmony's dad a call, cause I gave up waiting for him to call us, and asked him if he wanted to see her or not! And he said, of course he did, but didn't think he could for two weeks, because he and his parents are moving, and wouldn't have a place to take her. And I told him that well, she needs to be slowly introduced to him anyways, and the first step was going to be having him over here to spend an hour with her, so why couldn't he do that soon? So Harmony saw her Dad again- she didn't seem to really recognize him, but she did like him in the "here's someone fun to play with" sense.

Sunday we went to Grandma Dee-Dee's, even though we were starting to not feel so great (me especially). By Monday, I was feeling really sick- I dropped the baby off at daycare and went directly home for a two hour nap. :( Unfortunately, Harmony was sick too, and the daycare called me around 3 to ask if I could pick her up early to take her to the doctors. It turns out she had an eye infection, and the doctor gave me some drops to give her. Because it's contagious, I had to keep her home sick on Tuesday, and by Monday night I was totally dreading that day! Being home with a sick baby is bad, being home sick is bad too, but being home with a baby while you're sick and the baby is sick too, is just awful!!! But it turned out not too bad. I took Harmony to a friend's house, so at least she had a new exciting place to keep her mind on anything but how itchy her eyes were. I had asked Harmony's dad on Monday night if he could come and help out Tuesday night, and he said ok, so at least I could look forward to the fact that someone else would give her supper, and a bath, and put her to bed. Well, sort of... he only showed up 30 mins before her regular bedtime (I'd already give her supper), and I only got a chance to lie down and rest during her bath, because after that, Chris seemed to need a lot of help. Funny story- I was lying down trying to get rid of my heacache while Chris was giving her a bath, and then I heard the baby crying, so I went out to see what was up, and he was putting her in her sleeper without a diaper!!! So I took over for a bit, while he made a bottle ("How many scoops again?"). It really didn't end up being a break at all, but at least he's getting re-trained in how to take care of a baby. Seriously, I worry about him taking the baby on his own, cause if he forgets the really simple stuff (like, reading the top of the can to get the directions on how to make formula, and the fact that babies need diapers!), how can I trust him with her life in an emergency? I hate the fact that women are expected to know so much about babies, but men are just allowed to be clueless. And it's not like women just automatically know, I've done my research- 3 parenting classes, a billion books and magazines, 3 different weekly parenting groups, and of course on the job training. But hopefully he'll start learning these things, and I'll be able to let him take her.

On Wednesday, Harmony and I were feeling quite a bit better, so we went out. I still kept her home from daycare, just to be able to keep an eye on her, and cause she seemed really clingy. So it wasn't that she needed to be home all day, more just be with mom all day. But it was good, because we got a chance to visit some of our old stomping grounds! We visited "Baby and Me" at St. Mary's and got one last video shot on our tape. We probably wont be back there until the day Harmony "graduates" (which is when she starts walking!). We also went to the Young/Single Parents Drop-In, which was my favorite group- I'm really going to miss it!!! :( :( :( On Thursday (yesterday), baby went back to daycare since she was feeling a lot better and I went to Bethany for my last Anger/Stress Management Class. By then, I was feeling a little better with most of my symptoms, but my throat was totally dying- I could hardly talk! Sarah had to read some of my group work out loud for me! It was really sad to say goodbye to the Bethany crowd too, we had spent so much time there!!! So this week was a big week of goodbyes and moving on. It really feels like we've entered this weird new life, so many things have changed! No more parenting groups and classes and hanging out at Bethany and St. Mary's and Drop-In... :( But I think that despite my sadness over this time of my life being over, I'm excited to look ahead to what this fall with bring. I'm both excited and nervous about starting university, and about so many things. Harmony is getting so big, moving into that "senior infant" category, and I miss those baby days, but I'm also very thrilled about her new abilities and independance. There's still another week until school starts, but I'm sure it'll just fly by (oh no! There's so much to do!!!!)...

Harmony's Growth:

Harmony was weighed on Wednesday at "Baby and Me" and is up to 20 pounds 7 oz. We also talked to the nurse about eating and she said that since Harmony seemed to be expressing boredom with spoon-feeding, I should start moving forward with the finger foods. Harmony had her first taste of lasagna at Dee-Dee's and she loved it! I'm also going to talk with the daycare staff about starting to eat some of the foods the other kids are eating, and I'm going to start bringing finger foods for her instead of jarred foods. I have a feeling this will be a big challenge for me since I really don't like cooking, but hopefully the fact that I *have* to do it (whereas while just cooking for myself, it's not a necessity to cook good foods) will help.

Harmony can pull up on things by herself now! She has been working on this skill alot, and now she can pull herself up on low things, like Mommy's legs, short toys, and Grandma Dee-Dee's couch! :) She is also starting to "creep" along a little while standing holding on to something but usually can't go more than a few steps. Soon enough..

Continue to the next week...