“Hello There!”

We have had a major break through this week. Maisy slept through the night for the very first time. She didn’t do it the next night or the next, but we are working on it! We are doing what is called “sleep training”. We are no longer reinforcing night time waking with picking her up or with milk and the theory is that she will realize there is no need to get mom and dad up in the middle of the night because they can’t do anything for me anyway- and then she will just fall back to sleep and sleep like a little baby. Right?

Nap times have gotten a little bit more difficult now that Maisy can stand. She thinks it’s much more fun to have a standing party than to nap. She has also discovered the blinds that we had custom made for her room. She thinks they are perfect for sharpening her two tiny teeth on!

We had a very lovely first family Valentine’s Day together. Maisy made Todd a card. It was her first art piece.

Baby Painter

Maisy and Todd started the day with a nice book on the couch.

Reading time!

As Todd got laid off at the beginning of January, he is now working a temporary job in the city through the end of February. We hope that a full time position will come along soon! Maisy and I ventured into the city today to meet him for lunch. Meeting for lunch was such a treat. Todd doesn’t always get home before Maisy is in bed for the night, so it was good to give them a bit more time together. It helped that it was a beautiful day in the city and a fun day for a walk.

Later in the day Maisy and I met with Angie and Rowan at Lake Merritt for some play time in the park. It was the first time Maisy had been involved with duck and geese feeding. She thought it was okay, but then that one goose got a little too close and she started to get nervous.

hmm birds eating bread… interesting.

Tell that silly goose to back the duck up!

Maisy is a swing fiend- which is so adorable.

This is Maisy’s happy place

Maisy continues to become more steady when she pulls up on EVERYTHING. She is doing very well eating larger chunks of food and is feeding herself like a champ even though she only has her bottom two teeth. She’s gotten very quick too! It’s difficult to expect her to stay in one place these days. The good thing is that she understands when we tell her not to touch something and she so far respects that. We’ll see how that progresses.

She goes for her 9 month appointment the second week of March, so we’ll have more height and weight updates then.

Much love-
Todd, Becky and Maisy

Maisy being a little cradled sleeper in Mommy’s arms

We’re starting to figure it out…

T he first two nights were crazy, and filled with a crying baby and two exhausted parents who had no idea what to do. I am happy to report that Maisy has since gotten better with her sleep cycles. (Phew!) She now sleeps for two to four hours at a time during the night, so that way I only have to get up once or twice to feed. She’s been good at eating quickly and going back to sleep right after feeding.

We began going on short family outings/errands every day. The car and the stroller make Maisy nice and calm and getting out of the house makes me nice and calm. We never go out for long because I’m still terrified of trying to feed her in public. I think she and I both still need a little bit of practice in that first! We are still trying to learn all the tricks to make Maisy feel content and thus not cry. She LOVES shower sounds, static and vacuum sounds, so Todd has made her a nice little iPod mix of her favorites and that seems to calm her down most times. We also started letting her have her pacie (pacifier) for a few hours during the day when she is super fussy. We are pretty firm, though, on no pacie at night, which she doesn’t seem to mind. We don’t want to be getting up every 20 minutes to place it in her mouth again if it falls out!

Maisy seems to be growing every day. She is getting a bit more interactive and is now starting to focus on objects and practicing using her smile muscles. She also lost her umbilical stump! She has her first doctor’s appointment with her pediatrician on Friday.

The announcement out-takes

Todd was lucky enough to have his very first Father’s Day last week. Since I wasn’t able to get out and about to do much for him, a nice book and a home-made card was his gift. Todd seemed to enjoy it- he wanted to bbq chicken for dinner, and we had our first family grilling experience.

Maisy is so lucky to be able to have Todd’s mom and dad come for a visit this week. Both Maisy and the grandparents are super excited to meet each other!

The following week Todd, Maisy and I will take our first road trip to LA to visit my family and to attend a baby shower (someone else’s for a change!). Todd and I are very excited to have Maisy meet Elijah (big boy cousin), Papa and Uncle Rigo and to see Nana and Auntie again! While we are down there, we’ll be sure to go to RSM and meet Maisy’s little friend- Marly, born to our good friends Sarah and Drew just a few weeks before Maisy.

We would like to again thank everyone for their well wishes, meals and support in these first couple of weeks. All of you are very special to us. Having a wonderful support system really helps get through the first bumps in the road.

Much love -
Becky, Todd and Maisy