As Michelle mentioned yesterday, Zoe is in a pretty good routine. At 7am, I run into her room to either wake her up or find her laying there staring up as if she was waiting for me. I usually get a huge smile and a big stretch before picking her up. Next we change her and get on some new clothes. After a 20-min. breakfast, I get her back and it is play time. We usually read and talk and play on the computer for about an hour before mommy needs to go. I put her in her car seat and they rush out the door to drop her off at Elena’s before Michelle’s long drive to Stanford each morning (well, 3 days a week…) Below are some fun shots of our mornings together.

Jon Q

Playing with toys:

Playing on mat:

Reading:

Playing peek-a-boo:

Zoe has always been a good sleeper, so I started to slightly panic last week when her sleep pattern abruptly changed. She suddenly wasn’t interested in being bounced or sung to sleep at  night, and she started to wake up in the middle of the night and cry – something she hadn’t done since she was quite small. It was also taking her up to an hour to get back to sleep after a crying episode, when it used to take her closer to 5 or 10 minutes.

Q and I got our heads together and determined that we needed to be better about keeping her on a schedule. Maintaining her morning and afternoon naps hadn’t been a problem, but we hadn’t been very consistent about bedtime. We decided that we would establish a bedtime ritual; we would feed and read to her at 8 PM every night, with a goal of getting her to sleep (or, at least in her crib) by 8:30 PM. We also decided to be better at letting her cry a bit – with the hope that she would learn to self sooth. (I hate letting her cry, but I know it’s something that has to be done – at least for a few minutes.)

We kicked off the new schedule last Friday night, and I’m happy to report that things have gone swimmingly. She woke up and fussed a bit the first two nights, but ever since she has slept right on through until 7 AM – when we wake her up. Q and I have gotten around 8 hours of sleep every night this week, and I can’t tell you how refreshed that makes us feel!

-M

I’ve never been as proud of Zoe as I was yesterday morning. We had to go to the doctor to get her blood taken (again!), and she barely broke a sweat. As the doctor prepped Zoe and took out her needle, Zoe just held on to my finger and looked up at me with her big blue eyes. She didn’t even cry when the needle went in; she only cried – and for just a few seconds – at the end, when she realized what was going on. The blood-drawing thing has always been fairly awful, but Zoe handled this appointment like an old pro! (And there’s more good news: her platelet count remains nice and high!)

On a different note, now that Zoe is older and more aware of her surroundings, she’s harder to put to bed. When I put her in her crib and try to sing or talk her to sleep, she often just laughs or kicks her legs around. Check out the video, and you’ll see what I mean! (Does this look like the face of someone ready to sleep??)

-M

Zoe has hit an age where she changes a little each day – and it’s amazingly fun to watch the transformation. A lot of the developments are minor; things that perhaps only her parents would notice: like how she’s started to suck in her lower lip, how she opens her mouth REALLY wide right before she’s about to eat, how she doesn’t like being bounced to sleep as much as she used to. Some of the thing are more major: like how she (finally) grabs for and plays with her toys, how she always crams her hands (and toys) in her mouth, how she constantly smiles and laughs (like below). There are times when I wish I could push the “pause” button because everything is happening so fast… But when I remind myself that each day is better than the day before, I realize that the “play” option isn’t so bad, either.

-M

I haven’t blogged about it much, but for 2-3 times/week since the end of Jan., Zoe and I have been going to our work-out (“Stroller Strides”) at the mall. We’ve made a lot of friends, and we’ve actually had a lot of fun getting in shape. (Don’t let the “strides” in the title mislead you. We don’t just walk; these are intense work-outs!) The class, unfortunately, ends this week – so our last day will be tomorrow. It’s good timing, I guess – since I return to a 4-day/work schedule this week, but I know both of us are going to miss our 9 AM work-outs!

In other news, Zoe had a pretty mellow weekend. She did a lot of relaxing, playing and laughing – the latter which she just started to do on a regular basis. She also joined a big group of us (including Davey, who’s just a bit older than Zoe) for some dim sum this afternoon. It was *very* San Francisco of her, and she seemed to like all the food. Especially the sticky buns…

-M

Last month, I commented that Q loved the three-month stage. Turns out he loves the four-month stage, as well! The truth is that every day with Zoe is a little more fun than the day before. She’s at such a happy, fun stage: constantly smiling, laughing and ah-goo’ing. (She coos so much that I call her my little mourning dove.) She is much more interactive than ever before; she makes constant eye contact with us and responds to our comments with her baby babble. She can also do new things – like reach out and really grasp at objects (especially those attached to her little hippo mat) and roll around. She has rolled over from front-to-back a few times, but what she loves to do is roll over on her side (all the time).

Zoe has fallen into somewhat of a routine, which makes our lives easier. When she’s at daycare (which she started three weeks ago), she takes two long naps (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) and eats around 11 AM and 3 PM. She still gets about 12-14 hours of total sleep a day, and her bedtime is about 9PM-7AM. (Note: she’s had a few rough nights lately, but this has been the trend for most of the last month.) She still likes to be rocked or gently bounced to sleep, but – unlike when she was smaller – she often can put herself to sleep without assistance. And when she wakes up in the morning, she tends to chatter instead of cry – and she gives her parents the happiest smile when she sees them. Talk about heart-melting!

Physically, Zoe has also changed a lot. At 14 lbs, 11 oz and 26 inches, she’s a big girl now! She has a lot more (brown) hair, her eyelashes and eyebrows have gotten darker, and her nose has become more defined. Her eyes remain big and grey-blue; looks like I was premature in my earlier statement that they might be changing…  They’re still the same!

It really feels like Zoe is becoming more of her own little person… She’s still a baby for sure, but we are getting (fun, happy) glimpses of what little-girl Zoe is like.

-M

PS – Here is a picture of her from this morning – her 4-month birthday:

For some things, Zoe takes after her father. Like horsing around…she loves it!

Jon Q

One year ago today, we found out I was pregnant. We had just got done watching American Idol, I remember, and I was going to put off taking a test because it was getting late and I was feeling tired. But Q suggested I take one – it wouldn’t take long, he said – and so we found out. I wasn’t initially super excited, I remember; I felt more nervous and freaked out than anything. It took about a week for it to stop feeling totally surreal and odd – but it took many, months to feel even remotely ready for the baby.

If I had known then what I know now – that Zoe would be the most amazing person I’ve ever met, and she would make us feel utterly, deliriously happy – I would have jumped for joy the second I found out I was pregnant. The journey we’ve been on this past year has been so amazing, and it’s been great fun to watch Zoe grow from the size of a sesame seed to the big girl below! I can’t wait for more.

-M

Today Zoe went to the Dr for her 4 month checkup…and lucky for her, she got a fun set of shots. I am happy to report that she was very good at the Dr’s office and has been in good spirits all day (the Tylenol helps I am sure.) We also got her measurements – she is now 14 lbs 11 ozs and just about 26 inches long! The Dr was happy that she was both getting bigger and longer (so are we…)

Jon Q

I was putting Zoe down for her morning nap yesterday when another “first” took place. I started to sing the ABCs to her, and she looked up at me and laughed. It was louder than a giggle and longer than a squeal, and she kept it up throughout the entire song. I know I’m not the best singer, but, wow – isn’t Zoe a little young to be poking fun at her mom?? (Regardless, it made me and Q incredibly happy.)

-M

Zoe squealed for the first time last night. We weren’t doing anything exciting – I was just putting on her pajamas – but she was obviously feeling really happy. Her squeal not only drove me and Q crazy but also reminded me of how innocent and easy-to-please babies are. Wouldn’t it be great if adults were more like that?

Anyway, here are a few recent pics of Zoe in some playful moments.

-M

I’ve thought for awhile now that Zoe is a terribly sweet, mellow baby – but I’ve also recognized that, as her mom, I’m completely biased. Imagine my happiness, then, when someone outside of the family agreed with me! Yesterday, when I picked up Zoe from daycare, Elena commented on what a good baby Zoe was. Most babies have a hard time adjusting to daycare – to the noise, other kids, etc. – but Zoe, she said, seemed to have no troubles. She has fallen into a regular schedule (which includes two long naps), and she spends much of the day just looking around at the other kids, smiling. I, of course, have *nothing* to do with Zoe’s easy-going nature, but I can’t tell you how proud I felt when Elena said that!

In other news, I’ve seen a real change in Zoe’s little face lately. She’s starting to look less like an average (generic) baby and more like a unique person. Her nose, in particular, is really starting to take shape – and I actually think it might look like mine. I also noticed a tiny, dark fleck in her right eye, and I suspect her eyes (still now a dreamy grey-blue) are starting to change. The big mystery is – to what??

-M

PS – Can you believe she’s almost four months old already? People warned me that time flies with a baby, but I had no idea!

I’m the type of person who always likes having something to look forward to – a weekend get-away, a shopping spree with a girlfriend, a tropical vacation – and when I’m really excited about something, I get a happy, butterfly-like feeling my stomach that’s difficult to shake. I’ve had this feeling for the past few days now and I wasn’t sure why – until it hit me today that what I feel excited about is Zoe. She is at such an amazingly fun and cute age – she’s always smiling or giggling, or eating her hand (like below); and every day she does something that makes us laugh – that I can’t help but look forward to spending time with her. And I know that even when I return to a fuller schedule at work (which happens in two weeks), we’ll have our evenings and weekends with her. She’s like a built-in vacation (not from work, of course – but certainly from unhappiness or boredom), and I feel so lucky to have her!

-M

Zoe’s been keeping busy the past few days. On Sunday, another gorgeous day in the city, she hung out (read: napped) at Golden Gate Park and then did some playing – on her new, leaf “tummy time” mat and on her dad’s head. Yesterday she did some more napping and shopping, and today she and her mom went to the library for a sing-a-long. (Zoe’s voice is getting really good!) Check out a few pics from the last few days…

-M

 

 

 

One of my favorite memories of early labor (believe it or not, I have one) is of me lying on the ground in our bedroom – trying to control my breathing and avoid thinking about the increasing discomfort – while Q is running around the room with a variety of tools and bassinet parts. We hadn’t yet put “Sesame’s” bassinet together, and once Q realized that I really *was* in labor, he figured he better get the baby’s bed ready!

Q, of course, managed to finish this task before we went to the hospital – and Zoe has been happily sleeping in that little bassinet ever since. Well, at least until last night. We finally got her room insulated (a task we *didn’t* manage to accomplish before her arrival), and – confident that her room is now warm enough – we put Zoe in her crib, where she slept all night. (See below.)

I think it’s safe to say that Q and I have mixed feelings about this transition. It’s definitely been over-due – at more than 14 pounds, she was ready for a big-girl bed – but we had gotten used to having her near us, and hearing her sweet little sleeping sounds, every night. I’m a little sad, also, because all these milestones means she’s getting older and older, and bigger and bigger. (Where has my little 7-pounder gone??) BUT I know, ultimately, that that’s a good thing. We want her to grow and thrive – and to be happy in her warm, comfy bed.

-M