Other Firsts I Forgot to Mention...

December 30, 2008--Caroline's first experience with a babysitter

We have been very lucky that though neither set of grandparents lives locally in Richmond, both have made lots of visits to see their angel. And while in town hanging with C-line, they've given Corey and me the opportunity to go out and maintain some sort of social life. But the charity won't go on forever, we realized, so we began our search for a babysitter.

We decided to go with an agency recommended to us by friends that recently had twins. WeeCare pre-screens all their "childcare technicians" and all are required to have some basic medical knowledge including infant CPR and first aid, in addition to strong references and several years of experience. Especially with C-line's heart issue, we thought it a prudent choice for these months when she's so young. With all the paperwork and interviews complete, we hired Miss Tina to come and care for our baby so we could have a bowling night out with friends.

A word of advice for all of you new parents or parents-to-be who will eventually be ready to leave your precious bundles with a stranger: Make sure whatever you are doing that night involves some sort of activity. Bowling was the perfect choice because I was forced to release the cell phone from my hand at least 10 times during the evening.

I was a nervous mess all night but I couldn't help it. As soon as Miss Tina came in, C-line put on her best "princess pout" and just started crying. It was awful to watch. I melt when she puts on that pout. Her beautiful bottom lip sticks way out and those eyes just scream, "I'm really mad at you, Mommy, how could you?!?" Oh, the guilt!

I tried to stick around for a good half an hour once Tina got there to see if Caroline would calm down and understand that everything was going to be okay, but the crying and pouting would not stop. Corey, thank goodness, grabbed my arm and just said, "We're going." If he hadn't, I don't think I would have left.

We came back about 4 hrs later to hear from Tina that it was a little rough but that Caroline finally stopped crying when she fed her. (Note to self: child will accept food bribes in the future.) Other than that, Tina just held her and rocked her until she fell asleep.

It was a hard thing leaving my sweet baby so upset, but the time had to come sooner or later. Now, I am pleased to report that C-line didn't cry or pout one bit when I left her at the gym's childcare center last week. Nor did she put up any fuss when Miss Jessica came to watch her last Thursday. Hopefully, I won't have to see that pout again until the teen years!

you can kinda see the Princess Pout in this picture with Gramps...

January 9, 2009-- Caroline's first "poop-up-the-back"

When Caroline arrived, many veteran parents took great interest in telling me what I could expect in the world of dirty diapers. Green poop, yellow-seedy poop, poop that smelled sweet, poop that didn't. And as a fan of potty humor, none of this grossed me out. In fact, I asked for more. People love talking about poop, and with a little probing I learned which kid in the neighborhood was known for reaching in their diapers and smearing the poop on the wall, and that when kids are toddlers, they will deny having pooped despite the smell coming from their bottoms and refuse to be changed. While these poop stories were about older kids, I was warned that even though Caroline was just a couple months old, girlfriend was still capable of performing pooping feats of strength, the most common being the ol' classic "poop-up-the-back."

Caroline has managed more than a few stinkers in her short time on this earth but never had I seen a poop up the back. She had pooped up the front, so high that I found poop in her belly button once, but that was about as crazy a diaper dilemma I'd experienced until this January day.

Of course I had Caroline dressed in a new outfit, one given to her by my friend, Laura, that I had been dying for her to wear. Finally, Caroline fit into the adorable striped, knit pants and onesie combo from Talbots kids when she took it upon herself to achieve this pooping milestone. And when I say "pooping-up-the-back," I do not mean just above the rim of the diaper but all the way up to the shoulder blades! It was incredible! It defied gravity! As you can imagine, it took about 30 wipes to clean plus a bath. Wow!

Lucky for you, I didn't take a picture.