Artemisia: her first month

There will be a picture here...soon... phone blogging challenges me!!


I'm a little behind on my weekly update because mean Mastitis struck, again. (Message to Universe: The constant challenges to our nursing relationship? Not so fun. If you're wanting to test my dedication (like child led weaning last time wasn't proof enough...) please give up. You'll be surprised how many 104 fevers I can muddle through on turkey, chicken, millet and squash alone. Yah, that's right. In fact, I'm looking at this strict Elimination Diet bizness as palate expanding - so, nice try, and Thanks. (Call me stubborn :))



So Miss Z turned two months last weekend! I've talked about her tiny trials and tribulations - but I haven't really described her yet! I mean, at first she was just a simple, sleepy (screaming), squishy, but no more! So...

She is a squishy, only occasionally squawking, rarely screaming, smiley sweeetie. (Granted, squash, once my favorite harbinger of fall, now makes me gag, but the elimination diet has definitely been worth it:). She rolled, back to front, a week before she turned two months and rolled front to back a couple days later. And though she has been giving out good guffaws for a couple of weeks, that first precious bell like baby giggle was given to Superman just a couple nights before her two month mark. (The sound of both my kids' first giggles are cemented in my brain. Its, seriously, like the heavens opening and angels chiming magic harps. The sorta sound you'd think would stop wars. Baby giggles bring me a giddy clarity where nothing but love exists - if only for a moment!)

Physically? She seems to be growing quickly, leaving too small clothing in her wake. Her skin has cleared, the better to show off a very pink complexion (highlighted by her two rosy stork bites: one like a swath of eye shadow over her right eye, the other on the bridge of her nose (a twin to P's post birth). Her hair is still a mystery... As of now, she's a skunk. Her sides seem a light red but she rocks a light brown longer patch on top. To confuse the issue further, her eyebrows are so light as to be nonexistent. And her eyelashes are light like her sides and so long they rest on her fat little cheeks and curl back up. Otherwise, she's basic baby ;)

Funny future predictions:

Halloween choice: Shakespeare's Titania. No Dumbo costume here! Both sides of the family sport some serious ears and P wears the proof (I, of course, think he's perfect). But Zia has little pixie ears. So surprising with her lineage, it was the first thing my mother happily sighed over :)

Profession: Midwife. For two reasons :) First, we wanted a name that had a Greek link, to go with her brother's. The goddess Artemis is our top fave. Goddess of the wild, the hunt, she was brave and independent, loving the woods and animals. Never needing a man herself, she was, nevertheless, also goddess of childbirth, a midwife to those in need. In addition to her name's inspiration, is Zia's total addiction to womb sounds when napping. Perfect prep for listening to that Doppler:)

Passion: Painting. The name Artemis wasn't "girly" enough for the boys, but they loved "Artemisia.". And I love Artemisia Gentileschi, the first woman accepted into the Academy of Art and Design in Florence, an amazing paintress and a woman reshaping a woman's place in the 1600's. In addition to this is Miss Z's intense love of looking. Upon her arrival, her midwives were shocked at how she really looked and tracked, so intently, so early. Less of a boon at naptime these days, I'm sure it will serve her well someday...

Favorite garden planting: Artemisia, of course:). Its a pretty plant. And we really wanted a name that was something from nature. It was fun to find one that combined nature, Greek history and strong females - it was a tall order :)))

Favorite Place: Out West (of course:). We luuuurv the West Coast so far. The geography, the climate, the friendliness. And her middle name does pay homage to our journey West while she baked. But it was also meant to mimic her brother's name. Hudson was an attempt to remember where we were when he started (Brooklyn, thus we chose the Hudson river.). For Zia, we were living just off of Prospect Park West (back in Brooklyn again.) Plus, the word West conjures images of pioneering and exploration and there is nothing more this gypsy heart hopes for than eye opening travels for my children :)

Favorite sport: Gymnastics. The trampoline, in particular. Or perhaps the second bit of bungee jumping. Anything that includes serious bouncing. A movement she gets pretty agitated without when she's sleepy:)

Fave restaurant: Tapas. Small plates. Or an all day buffet sorta place. (Assuming they serve gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, nut free...) When she's awake, she is the consummate snacker. She has about 20 minutes right when she wakes up during which she's happy on the floor, Superman's arm, whatever. After that? She wants to be beside her snack plate, sip a second, look around, take another sip, smile, sip, yawn. Then starts the sip-squawk-better-bounce bit, lovingly dubbed The Milkshake (har-har:). Try in any way to elongate the time between her awake hors d'oeuvres (by, ya know, showering or eating while someone else holds her) and she screams as if she hasn't eaten in two days and those two small sips will save. her. life. Nevermind the sips from a minute ago :). Which leads me to:

Past Life Origin: Nepal. Where babies nurse multiple times per hour and no one would expect anything different. We'd fit in spectacularly:)

Relationship status: Strictly monogamous. Her future partner will enjoy endless devotion and smiles. But, as my mother pulled out her well worn joke from P's early childhood ("attachment parenting, eh? Well, it worked, he's attached!) during our first few days, she pretty quickly updated it to: "We only thought Phoenix was attached!". And its true. By this age I could be away from P for an hour or a bit more, without complaints. Z lasts 15-20 minutes - at most (often with complaints:). And only if she has just woken and nursed. Dedicated:)

Future BFF: Phoenix! He's hopelessly devoted himself :). Noise (baby wails) has been his only complaint so far, perfectly weathering waiting for me when Zia has needs. And it seems that has even evolved already. On the ride home from the airport, she fell apart. I reached out to P to pat his leg (knowing the enclosed space and her bellows to be his hot spot) and he said, "Its ok, Mama. Her screams don't bother me so much anymore, I just feel bad for her." Awww! Then, a few days later, he was working through a big disappointment and Zia started screaming. I was trying to hug on him and kinda bounce her at the same time and he turned his sad little strong face up and said, "You better help the baby, Mama.". There had been no way for me to choose who to help (I want to be there for them both! And neither was in acute distress making the decision simple ;) and here he gave me permission to help the wee one. Not even in a martyr-ish kinda way, just true empathy for his sis. (Can you stand one more? Bear with me. I wanna remember these for when they are older and arguing :) Everyone here has been sick with a nasty virus. Somehow, Zia and I have avoided it so far. Then P's Aunt got sick with a truly terrible tummy bug and P was exposed to it. So I asked him if I could put some oregano oil on the soles of his feet, to help him fight his virus and the bug, that the tummy one would make it very difficult for me to be able to feed his sister (milk production and extreme dehydration not going hand in hand!). The kid HATES oil (or anything sticky) on his skin - I figured it was a lost cause, but worth asking... He said yes instantly. Whatever he needed to do. The next day he was talking to me and all of a sudden looked panic stricken. "I accidentally touched the baby with my finger" he breathed. Lol. E and P had been "quarantined" from holding her until they felt better and P, apparently, took this job Very Seriously. Yah, I've got older brothers, and this sorta devotion isn't easily forgotten :)

So, that's the rundown at two months. I give it all a week to totally change :)