High Society

Zofia had brunch on Sunday with her Auntie Mi-Yong at Old Ebbits Grill in Washington DC. Not even a year old and she's already hobnobbing with the DC politicos.

Velcro Baby

Zofia is stuck to me like velcro today!

The other day Zofia started sticking out her tongue - hilarious! Her night sleeping has been horrible and she awoke the other night in such a terror I rushed into her room just to make sure nothing terrible had happened. As it turns out, she's cutting a tooth! Today, as she was in full blown scream, I saw a dark spot on her gum....hmm. I went to my neighbor's house and she confirmed - a tooth is on the way!

She gave me some teething tablets that helped Zofia take a 30 minute nap this morning thankfully! But other than that, she's glue.

Haute Couture

well ... as haute as diapers can be. I finally ordered the cloth diapers. I have been waiting all summer as they were going through "re-design". Then the website said they were coming in the beginning of September, then the website said they're coming, then they disappeared, then I got an email saying the diapers got sold to an Australian company and a different company was the US distributor......

I placed my order the other day with the new company (http://www.nickisdiapers.com/). They arrived via UPS tonight!! The diapers I selected are called Haute One Size Pocket Diapers. The great thing about this diaper is that the fit adjusts so I don't need to keep buying new diapers as Zofia grows. I ordered 2 of every color they could fill.

No more diapers in landfills for us! We are going green (and yellow and pink and purple and blue...)

GI Jane

Zofia is commando crawling! Gal after my own heart... one day she will learn the finer points of low crawling and high crawling.

She had been gearing up for this over the last 2 weeks and last night it happened! I realized after her dinner that she didn't have a lot of tummy time and put her on her playmat and she scooched for her toy! I immediately called Steven and he asked if I was taping it - DOH! OH YEAH!!! Check out her video!

Today while visiting my friend Kristi and her son Oliver, she chased my water bottle around the floor...and got a little frustrated since it kept rolling away!

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet

...give me something good to eat....grrrrrrrr

Zofia was a dragon for Halloween - frightening!!!

It's Nuclear!

and I'm not talking about the family unit! Zofia started solids solidly this week and her poop is hazardous waste! It makes me gag!



but the bright side is....
she loves it! She eats 2 "meals" that consists of oatmeal, formula/breastmilk, and pear or banana followed by a bottle. I think she likes bananas more than the pears.

Bye, Bye, Baby

I went on my first business trip last week! I have to say, pumping while traveling SUCKS! Trying to find a place to pump in an airport was soooooo difficult. The "family care" restrooms had electrical outlets but the majority of them didn't work! Then trying to figure out how to store the EBM was also a challenge - my hotel fridge was not the best, so I asked the hotel if I could store it in their refridgerator and they were very willing to oblige. Then at work I had to find a place to store because I wasn't sure the little cooler and ice packs would keep it cold enough. Luckily, the snack bar let me store my cooler in their fridge.

On the home front, it was a rough week for Steven. Trying to work, take care of Zofia, sell the car, and eat was difficult. She came through it nicely, but we were all very tired by the end of the week.

I got home at about 1am Friday night and found them asleep on the bed among a mass of toys, sleeping, like babies.

Milk, par avion

Yeah! The TSA has lifted its restrictions! Now, a mother flying without her child will be able to bring breast milk through the checkpoint !!

http://www.tsa.dhs.gov/travelers/airtravel/children/formula.shtm

This is a huge deal for me, as well as timely! My first trip is next week and I've been trying to figure out how in the heck I'm going to get my milk home. I may still have to check a bag, but I'm hoping with some creative packing I may be able to squeeze it all in my 2 carry-ons: Laptop, Pump (all of the icepacks), and clothes. Now I'm wondering how will I get through security with ice packs to keep all of the breastmilk cold/frozen? I can check my luggage on the way there so the ice packs will be in my suitcase. But what about on the way home?

Nose-free-da

It's actually called Nosefrida, a Swedish made nasal aspirator that is not a bulb suction aspirator but rather a suctioning device that is controlled by the parent. I got it in the mail yesterday and had the opportunity, if you'd call it such, to use it this morning. And she didn't scream, squirm, or turn away! I think she was more curious than anything about this contraption, but hey I have a short reprieve from the arm flailing!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

And she's off! Finally, Zofia is learning to roll from her tummy to her back! She has been rolling from her back to tummy for quite some time now but always got stuck on her stomach (causing many sleep disturbances). Over the last couple of days she's been able to roll from front to back, as well as spin in circles on her belly. It's not all the time and it may not even be intentional, but it's a start!!

笑 (laugh)

oh, it was small but it was there. I got a giggle last night and this morning! Finally a giggle that happened twice in a row! Everyday I wondered "when will Zofia laugh"? I want to know what kind of laugh she'll have. Will it be deep and throaty? Or will it be a high squeal of delight? It's still too soon to tell.

Keep laughing, baby!

Moon in Gemini

Moon is in 27 Degrees Gemini. Keywords: Loquacious, Quick, Versatile, Sly, Friendly, Adaptable, Duality
Restless in the extreme, you are easily bored because of your short attention span. Your emotions change rapidly and you love to talk about your feelings. Generally, you have good judgment -- your intellect controls your emotions and you do not overreact emotionally to things. A good jack-of-all-trades, you have many- sided interests and enjoy reasoning things through. With your mental agility and need for physical mobility, you are attracted to traveling and learning about other peoples and cultures. You have vivid powers of emotional self-expression - - you can be a nonstop talker. You love to share your ideas with anyone who will listen.

My angel baby is back (must be the Gemini)! We had a mysteriously good day today. I'm sure I'll pay for this, but today was so nice. Steven was gone all day staying over a friend's house to take him to his Lasix appointment this morning. I was worried about working and taking care of her, especially in light of how fussy she has been over the last week. But Zofia was in a good mood and by 3:30 we were at Elizabeth and Richard's house for an evening with Daddy and Richard.

sshhhhhhluuuuuuuurrrrrrp

ewe... the sound of the nasal aspirator. Poor Zofia, she has a cold. Last night she woke up every 2 hours (after finally settling at 11pm!!) completely congested and unable to breath freely.

I took her to the doctor this morning and they confirmed it was a cold. Baby Tylenol at bedtime.... poor thing, no wonder she hasn't been too happy.

EH? WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

I swear I must be going deaf. I have a constant ringing in my ears - thank you very much Zofia. Her screaming! Even the smallest wimper, and it's not that small, is making my eardrums ache. I think I need to wear earplugs. I would like to cuddle her when she's at her absolute worst, but the pain! So it was bad enough that I lost the ability to hear low tones (sorry, Steven) but now I'm beginning to lose the high range too!

We are still struggling with sleep. It's gotten to the point that we (meaning Steven) have to wear her down for naps and at night. I'm pretty annoyed at the whole thing, actually. She was doing so well before and now she's a screaming maniac when it comes to sleep. What are we doing wrong?!

It is a very demoralizing thing to have your baby scream and scream, day after day, night after night. And I feel guilty for being mad because I know she can't help it. But I am mad and frustrated. Why doesn't she just stop screaming and GO TO SLEEP FOR GOODNESS SAKE?!

whoooooooooooooosh!

The sound of time rushing past me! I never did make it to the store in my last post. Honestly I do not know where the time actually goes. The saying "you can make up the time" is such a lie. Time is ephemeral. You can't capture it and store it for later use - I think I'll take the 2 hours off the shelf here and take them now please.

Zofia is 5 months old tomorrow!! So I'm wondering when does the screaming/crying stop when it comes to sleep? Have I started some unintentional bad habit? Other than that, she's awesome. Smiles and quirkiness. We've tried her in her regular stroller seat for the last two times and she seems OK with it (so far).

My sister came into town for a few days for work. She brought me Zofia's first hanbok for her 1-year birthday and a Korean baby carrier. Apparently there's only one place in Seoul that sells them - in the fabric district. No one carries their babies over there anymore, so I'm told. I suppose it is looked at as peasant-like, while here in the States it is usually reserved for the more attachment-parenting mind-set.

All work and no play

I started back to work last Wednesday. Luckily I am not assigned to a project just yet and get to work from home. However, even with that I don't get to spend nearly the time I would like with Zofia because I don't feel comfortable just walking away from the computer (my albatross).

Today, however, I will go out for lunch and take Zofia to the store to pick up a few things - namely diapers.

Sleep, perchance to dream

Just when you think you've got it all figured out, they go and change the game!

Zofia was such a good sleeper. We were diligent at watching her cues and when we took her to bed, she didn't fuss at falling asleep. Alas, I have just spent the last 2 HOURS getting Zofia to bed. She has become increasingly agitated at sleeping in her crib. Last night we attributed it to the chocolate cake I ate in the evening, but tonight I have no clue why she's so disorganized.

What frustrates me the most is that she falls asleep nursing and is quite content to lay on the Boppy asleep. She plays possum really well! So tonight I had to nurse, pat, shush, and snuggle her to sleep for 2 hours.

I'm hoping this is a phase and not an omen of things to come!

Baek-il

Zofia turned 100 days old on Monday 30 July, 2007!

In the past, when Korea was still a 3rd world country, infant mortality was high. If you made it to 100 days it was believed that you'd survive, therefore a little ceremony was held to give thanks to "samshin halmoni" (grandmother who takes care of children)-a shamanistic ritual to give thanks and offerings to the goddess honored with rice and soup in gratitude for having cared for the infant and the mother, and for having helped them live through a difficult period. The family, relatives and friends then celebrate with rice cakes, wine, and other delicacies such as red and black bean cakes sweetened with sugar or honey. There are different rice cakes: baekseogi (white steamed rice cakes for longevity, representing cleanliness and freshness), susupo-duk (rice cakes coated with red bean powder to prohibit bad things), injeolmi (glutinous rice cakes for patience), and songpyeon (half-moon shaped rice cakes for thought). It is also believed that if 100 people eat rice cakes the baby will live a long life. (some rice cakes taste better than others).

Links to the past

Zofia's in-utero life is chronicled at 1+1