Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Shoes

Can I just say that I love fall? This year I have a whole new appreciation for it too, coming in the form of Anja's shoes. I LOVE putting shoes on Anja. I've heard you're not supposed to put shoes on your babies until after they're a year old--something about their feet not turning out right or something--but I figured the babies in the olden times always wore those high-top lace-ups and they all learned to walk eventually, so it must be okay for Anja to wear shoes now too. And she has some REALLY cute shoes. Oh heck, I love all of her fall clothes, from the toes up. I love planning out what she's going to wear the next day, right down to her socks (or tights, as is the case tomorrow!) In fact, I get so wrapped up in it, that most days I get out of the shower and realize I've forgotten to pick out anything for myself to wear!!!

Anja has been sleeping better at night. She's been waking pretty much three times a night. The downside is that every time she wakes she needs to be driven. I try nursing her back to sleep, which she likes, except it doesn't put her to sleep anymore. I try bottle-feeding her to sleep but in order to that I have to take her down to the kitchen, fix the bottle for her (which usually includes first washing a bottle) go back upstairs, and by that time she's pretty wide awake. So I reeeeaaalllly need to start putting a bottle in the fridge before I go to bed so it's ready and I can just leave her in bed, dash down for the bottle, return and feed her to sleep. Tonight I already have the bottle in the fridge so I will try it. I'm getting reeeaaalllyyyyy sick of driving around town three times a night. HOWEVER, it is definitely better than waking every thirty minutes or hour to nurse.

Tomorrow I have an ultrasound! I'm pretty excited. I don't really feel pregnant yet, just fat. However, today when I was doing dishes I noticed that I do have a distinct, unsquishable bump beneath all those layers of fat. I'm one of those perfectly sized pregnant ladies whose belly is right at counter level. Booo.

My mornings without Martin here are difficult. They are especially difficult when I let myself sleep in, as I did today. I HAVE to get up before Anja if I want to complete my morning routine in time for her to have her morning nap on time. When Martin is home I can be ready for the day in half an hour. Without him it takes about two hours. This morning Anja was extra clingy so it took longer than usual and when I finally tried to put her down for a nap she was too tired and upset. I tried everything, all she did was scream, so finally we went for a walk. She was happy to walk down to K Dee's, upset by the time we left. (All we did was stand in line, get a hot chocolate and leave.) I gave her some of my whipped cream, but when I stopped feeding it to her she got REALLY mad and screamed the whole way home. Now this is the point of my story: Why do people feel compelled to strike up a conversation with me when it is very clear that I'm on my way home with a screaming baby? Here I am, practically running down Main Street and the parking meter man decides this is a good time to talk. He's never talked to me before, but here he is telling me about his own kids' sleep schedules from however-long-ago. Dear Mister Meter Man: Not only do I not care about what you're telling me, but I'M IN A HURRY!! My baby is screaming her head off in the middle of Main Street! I do not want to talk to you! Sheesh. People are so crazy sometimes.

I have more to say but Martin is calling, so I guess I'll have to post the rest tomorrow!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hadn't heard that you shouldn't put shoes on kids that young. I'd heard that the first shoes need to be pretty flexible.

I really liked some slipper/shoes called Bobux (I think that is the spelling). They are little leather shoes that are very flexible while still giving a bit of protection. They were kind of moccasin-like.

I was bummed when my kids out grew theirs.

Now Ryan wears size 13...he has skis down there...

Congrats on the new baby too.

Sam

Anne said...

I'm excited to hear about the ultrasound!!

LauraSuz said...

Does your doctor give the ultrasound at 18-20 weeks? If so, you're a head of me by weeks! Have fun watching your baby! I can't wait for that appt!!

Lady Caitie in the Pretty City said...

Hi Annie! :) Just wondering: what do you do when you have two babies that want to be driven? Was that just a quick-fix thing that got to be a habit? Or is that how you planned to do your nightly routine? TOTALLY just wondering, not questioning! LOL!! :)

Annie Hatke Schap said...

Caitie: It won't happen. What will happen is that this new one will have some completely different, yet equally horrible habit that IT needs in order to fall asleep. And then I'll just rotate all my time between driving aimlessly around town and completing some other completely ridiculous task.

As for how the driving came about, it was for awhile the only way Anja would fall asleep at night. But then we thought she'd become a better sleeper and she didn't. And it wouldn't be a problem if we'd moved her crib upstairs instead of putting her on her twin mattress when she grew out of her bassinette... because now if she is awake and happy at night, I have to be awake too *WITHOUT DOZING OFF* or she will escape.

I just hope that soon she'll be toddlerish enough to understand what nightime means.

Laura: I'm going to post right now about the ultrasound. I'm only 15 weeks along.

Annie Hatke Schap said...

Sam: Bobux sound a little bit like Robeez. (I don't know if that's spelled right..) Both my sister and my sister-in-law swear by those things. My sister-in-law (a serious bargain shopper) has loads of pairs for her little boy. ALL SO CUTE!!! Anja has one pair that don't fit her anymore and when they did fit I wasn't able to get them on her feet. Boo.