two-month stats

She's 24 inches long (96th percentile!!!)

10 lbs. 12 oz. (40th percentile)

circumference of head = 15.5 inches.

WOW.

The first week, she was in the 2nd percentile for weight, and 20-some for length. She's growing so well!

Nick the Name

I almost never call her "Valerie," to the point where sometimes it takes me a few seconds to remember her name. Sometimes I call her "Solana" by mistake! But the compendium of
nicknames includes:

***and how could I forget: Miss Grunty Grunty!

V.
Vivi
Little V.
Little Val
Cuteness
Sweetness
Sweetheart
Sweetie-pie
Chub-Chub
Little Monkey Girl
Little One
Little One-one

But the most frequent and least creative thing I call her is just My Baby.

Slings and things (edited to fix layout and add final comment)

The attachment parenting literature is pretty clear on the benefits of "babywearing" (aka carrying your baby close to your body). I've been struggling somewhat with the sling thing, however. Little V. likes to be carried upright rather than reclining, although she does ok in the carseat (which we refer to as her "plastic bucket") and will also tolerate the sling when she's sleeping. But, so far, the carrier that most resembles a bullet-proof vest has been the easiest one for us to master given her preferences.

Here's what we've tried so far, with pros and cons.

THE PLASTIC BUCKET

Pros: when running errands that require driving anywhere, eliminates the need to transfer her constantly back and forth from one conveyance to another.

Cons: bulky, awkward to carry unless in the stroller (and then extra-bulky), heavy - 11 lbs sans baby.

THE BULLETPROOF VEST
Pros: easy to put on and adjust, nice for hot days since arms and legs are free. She really likes pushing back from your chest and staring all around her. It mimics the way she likes to be held in our arms. Dad likes it.

Cons: doesn't keep sun off head or limbs; cultural association with pretentious yuppies; the nagging feeling that you are short-changing her by not using a more ergonomic, earth-friendly sling.

THE EARTH-MAMA
Pros: Best weight distribution on my frame - by far the most comfortable to wear. Also very versatile with lots of ways to tie on. The generous fabric protects her skin from sun or cold. Guatemalan fabric is beautiful and just looks cool. Y'know; "ethnic."

Cons: Learning curve. It definitely takes skill to tie on, practice and commitment. Also not great for hot weather.

THE POCKET SLING
Pros: simple construction, no adjusting or tying or buckling required

Cons: I have only managed to use it correctly ONCE. Part of the problem is that the design requires her to have her legs tucked up against her tummy, but because of how she was positioned in the womb, she likes to have her legs out either froggy style or straight. I've just had a really hard time getting her into and out of this one and am about to give up.

THE BOTTOM LINE

I'd really like to try a ring sling, since the hardest part of the pocket sling for me is getting her in and out. I remember the few times I carried Solana in the ring sling, it was nice to be able to loosen it in order to get her out, and to tighten it after putting her in.

I also want to learn other ways of tying on the wrap. Rachel asked about my back - because of the way this one distributes her weight on my body, it is easily the most comfortable. The B.jorn is the second best.

and now, some knit pics

I originally knit this sweater to sell as part of the "Solana Sweaters" campaign, but this one never sold. It was my first top-down raglan. I LOVE that it basically knits all in one piece, with no seams to sew! I think the only sewing was to put on the buttons.

It was my own design, although the lace pattern is from this book of folk shawls, this one was supposed to be Japanese I think. The yarn was "found yarn" from a yard sale.
I love it on Valerie, I don't think I can part with it now!

as promised: camping pics!

Here we are in front of our tent; Valerie is in the Ella Roo wrap. The bassinet from Vince and Heather was GREAT!
Often we put the Lambie inside it, but it was too hot this day.
Look how big she is!!!
And here is our set-up inside the tent.
We also did some hiking, a lot of eating, talking, and laughing, and there were a bunch of other people there - but I don't have permission to post their pictures on the internet so you'll just have to imagine that we were part of a big group :-)

I think it's safe to say a good time was had by all; I enjoyed it immensely (except for the sleep deficit) and found it very relaxing. Maybe that had something to do with having the cell phone turned off the whole time...

Quick Update

I feel like all I did today was sleep... thanks to Terry and the grandparents! I was still catching up after our camping trip this weekend, which will be another post once I get photos downloaded. It went really well and I wanted to stay longer, but I guess I didn't actually sleep much or very well on the ground. Valerie slept great though!

So we are settling into our new routine here, re-organizing the house little by little, coping with the summer heat in our non-A/C house. Here is how our days go (more or less):

6:30 Valerie wakes up to nurse (this is pretty much a constant)
7:00-ish I go for a half-hour walk around the neighborhood and buy paper. Sometimes I take V., sometimes I leave her with Terry, depending on how awake they both are.
8:00-ish breakfast. Then I spend the morning at home with V., doing small tasks around the house when she naps. This is my taste of being stay-at-home mom! I enjoy it a lot but by the afternoon I'm ready to get out and about.
noon-ish: lunch
Sometime between 2 and 6 p.m. we go to Grandma's* house for a few hours to check e-mail, nap, hopefully do some of my academic work that I'm behind on...
Sometime after 6 p.m. we forage for dinner, then possibly go shopping in the evening before going to bed. It seems that V. gets her bath (when she gets one) pretty late, rarely before 10 p.m., sometimes as late as midnight...
She usually falls asleep for the night sometime between 11:30 and 1:00 a.m.
So I guess that's why I need the naps!

Promises, promises: pictures coming soon!!!

*Both her Grandmas are referred to as Grandma, so we'll have either Virginia Grandma and Peru Grandma or Grandma Dot and Grandma Irma, or Grandma Jantzi and Grandma Phelps - but for now it's just the undifferentiated kin category, Grandma.

question

So what is known about uterine fibroids? I completely forgot until a conversation I had yesterday that the Docs found a big one at the top of my uterus when they delivered Valerie. I'm not sure what the implications are. Anyone know? (I do plan to ask the Doc about this the next time I see him).

solipsism

I heard that some people were claiming that there are no pictures of me on this blog, so here you go :-)