10/11/06 Katrina gets a bath

I'd forgotten how quickly a newborn's hair gets greasy. Besides, it was time for a quasi-bath anyway (we can't immerse Katrina until her cord falls off). She does not like this process! But consoled herself with a thumb afterward, though she didn't know what to do with the rest of her fingers.
After a nice visit with Lacy (who brought us a huge baked ziti and a whole bunch of adorable girl clothes from Gymboree, thanks again!), Katrina took a nap, with a blanket given to us by Sara and Saul (thanks too!). Her hair was so fuzzy and cute, though hours later it was all oily again.

Recently I tried to show Gabriel how to tie his shoes, in steps. Julian took great interest too, especially the first part where you cross the laces and put one end under the "tunnel" (before the rabbit-ears part). I wondered if Julian would take to shoe-tying more, as he tends to engage himself in fine-motor-skills sorts of things more than Gabriel does.

Well, this afternoon, Julian spent a good half hour tying his laces (the first 'X' cross that is, not the whole thing) again and again and again until he'd made a giant knot! Goofball.


Gabriel had another drop-off playdate on Tuesday (yesterday) afternoon, this time with Gavin and Cassie (thank you Stacey!). After great concern and excitement about Gavin's plastic, instead of wooden, train tracks (a GeoTrax set), Stacey managed to wrest them all away to the park to ride bicycles. They had a great time together! She said it was all she could do to keep up with them, but at least she was able to get a few pictures.







Ugh, the night doesn't bode well. This entire evening has been spent nursing Katrina every half hour, between which she sleeps fitfully for 10-15 minutes, then wakes up acting starved, rooting and crying inconsolably and won't be settled by any of our usual techniques -- except feeding, for a while. This cycle has gone on for hours tonight.

I just gave Dave a bottle to give her, which she sucked down immediately and is now snoozing peacefully in Dave's arms. But then, 15 minutes hasn't passed yet. Is she getting enough from me? Me and my "girls" are getting paranoid again.

Katrina knows me now though. If she's crying and Dave's holding her, when I take her she calms down immediately, at least at first.

One odd consequence of having a girl after two boys is that we have to get into the "she" and "her" pronoun habit. Even today, Dave referred to the baby as "him," and I've had to stop myself doing that too. Stacey told me that she and Scott did the same thing at first with their daughter. I guess you associate the pronouns of the sex of the first baby you have with 'baby" in general.

Argh, I hear baby-wakeup noises again. I'm never going to get to sleep tonight!

10/11/06