Friends Come to Baltimore

On Saturday, Mike, a former Georgetown colleague of Daniel's, his wife Susie, and their twins John and Ella came to visit Ruth.

Mike and Susie are pretty much the greatest parents I know. They're raising well-behaved, well-mannered, fun kids and have done so among some stressful situations including family losses and the post-PhD job search. Not to mention that their now-thriving kids were born very early. Ella weighed in at only 1 lb. 7 oz. and John tipped the scales at 2 lbs.

John is actually my godson. Susie endured weeks of bedrest at Georgetown to give her kids the best possible chance for a healthy outcome. Very shortly after the kids were born, I visited with her with Jeremy and Leigh. One very understanding Jesuit later and they became Ella's godparents while Mike's sister and I became John's.

Although it is great news for their family, we won't be seeing much of them anymore. They're moving southward so Mike can take a tenure-track position. Sniff. We'll miss you so much!

Hoping for more...

We started Ruth on Zantac on Wednesday night for her GERD. On Thursday she was sleepier than usual -- whether this was due to the histamine-blocking properties of the Zantac or her tummy feeling better I don't know.

What I do know is that she was much happier in the afternoon. She likes me to sing to her, despite the fact that I am tone deaf, and have no rhythm or range. She seems to like "You Are My Sunshine." So, with camera in hand and baby safely on the carpet, I sang to her and managed to capture actual! photographic! evidence! of our child in a good mood. Here's to hoping we see her smile more often...

Two Month Update

Ruth went to the pediatrician today. She tipped the scales at 11 lbs. 10 oz., up two pounds, one ounce since her one month appointment. She measured 22.5 inches in length.

She is at or slightly above the 50th percentile for head size, weight, and length. The pediatrician thought she was doing very well.

Ruth also will be starting Zantac. She has been pretty cranky as of late and showing some classic symptoms of silent reflux. We hope that the medication will help her feel better and smile more.

She also had her first shots: HiB, for influenza and meningitis; Rotavirus, to protect against a cause of serious gastrointestinal disease; pneumococcal conjugate, to protect against strep that causes pneumonia and meningitis; MMR, for measles, mumps and rubella; Hep B, to protect against the liver disease; and DTP, to protect against diptheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough).

She revisits the pediatrician in two months unless her reflux doesn't respond to treatment.

Tough Girls

Tonight, we figured we try taking Ruth on another little adventure, this time out to see the Charm City Roller Girls match. The event was billed as kid-friendly, and, aside from the noise, very much was. Several of the Roller Girls and a number of their fans have children, so there was even a mommy chill out room for breastfeeding and the like. Unfortunately, Ruth was a bit grumpy (we really think she may have reflux) and so she and M hung out in the chill room much of the night - which makes it even cooler of them that they had one.

The match itself was a bit hard to follow, since the scoreboard was dim and the commentary incomprehensible over their sound system. Next time we'll have to go with an expert. I started to get a feel for it, a bit, after a few rounds, though. There was definitely a gradient of viciousness between the teams - the Mobtown Mobs (in red) seemed particularly brutal, quite successfully knocking down several Night Terrors, and inflicting one blow to the throat... but hey, they won. The woman in blue (and blur) in my photo is, I think, Rosie the Rioter of the Night Terrors, who pulled off some of the most impressive footwork I've seen on skates, weaving in and out. Several folks commented on how cute our future derby-er was (maybe; I'm still saving up for a set of these so I can work out with her in the basement, like I did with my dad). And I even saw another dad carrying his child - which warms my heart.
The other photo is from earlier in the day. Compare to the photo of her sleeping on me from April 18... I think she has a favorite pose.

Day 59 - Mamma is kinda hardcore

Weekend Recap

This past weekend Daniel, Ruth, and I went to the Lauraville Block Party. Lauraville is a neighborhood just to the northeast of us. As part of our commitment to greener living, we try to shop locally as much as we're able; the block party was another opportunity to support great local shops.

On one block in Lauraville, there are several locally-owned/operated businesses. Besides the yarn store (where Daniel picked out a skein for a replacement hat), Rock Candy(where I more than spent my extra breastfeeding calories), and Red Canoe, there is a children's store, Bediboo.

Bediboo, in cooperation with the Baltimore Attachment Parents listserv, hosted a baby wearing get together. Seeing as how I adore my pouch slings and our mei tai, I was excited to meet other baby-wearing mamas and to try some new carriers. (Baby wearing has a myriad of benefits, not the least of which is the ability to hold Ruth close but keep our hand free. The upright style of the mei tai seems to calm her especially well.)

With the help of another more experienced mama, I was able to try out a Moby wrap. I really liked the stretchy, breathable fabric and so picked one up. Ruth likes the wrap too. This afternoon, we took a short walk to get me a smoothie and Daniel some ice cream. She seemed to like being able to look around while securely attached to me (at least until she fell asleep on the way home).

We met some nice mamas at the baby wearing get together and one mama-to-be who borrowed an unusually calm Ruth to try out the mei tai carrier and to get a peek at cloth diapering.

Besides the baby wearing, we stuffed ourselves with chicken from Alabama BBQ -- we like them so much they may cater Ruth's simchat bat (baby naming) in July -- beer from local Brewer's Art and iced coffee from great local roaster Zeke's. Oh, and we watched a cute demonstration of African drumming with a kids class from Great Soul.

Heat Wave

Day 54 - Too darn hot.

Again, More Photos

Day 52 (Saturday) - It's just all too much.













Day 52 - Rambina. We were all very fussy from the heat, so we decided to go out to get ice cream. But, we needed a way to protect Ruth from the beating, beating rays of the sun, and her one hat that fits so far clashes horrendously with the mei tai. So, voila, Dad's ill-fated bandanna-cum-grease-rag-cum-I-don't-need-to-put-sunscreen-on-my-bald-pate-I-have-a-bandanna became Ruth's new hat. I think she looks tough.

The Cat is Not the Babysitter!

Day 51 - It didn't last...