Hattie: One month!

"I'm so pretty. I mean, serious, look at me. Hee!"

It's a sleepy Friday...

And here is proof. I should be asleep too; however, I think I'll just enjoy the future blackmail of this moment.

"I'm hungry, I have PMS, and I'm armed!"

That's one of my all-time favorite Suzanne Sugarbaker quotes (surely you remember Designing Women, or perhaps it is your current guilty pleasure, as it is mine). I love sassy Suzanne Sugarbaker with her Southern sense of entitlement, her seemingly civil relationships with her ex-husbands, and her pet pig. However, I don't want to look like her. I realized this weekend during my first post-baby trip to the mall by myself that I am dangerously approaching that slippery place where casual outfits in, shall we say, "voluptuous" sizes, may be comfy, but in reality, look like the fashion faux pas I want to avoid which is somewhere between plus-sized supermodel (Suzanne) and frumpy frugal mom. I'm back to shopping by size instead of style, and I'm so out of the loop, I don't know what is in fashion right now, and I haven't really updated much from my wardrobe since 2004 (except to accommodate "the burden of my flesh" to borrow a line from Edith Wharton). Help me.

Ahh...three-day weekend!

Hope you had a good one! We entertained a few hundred friends at our place over the weekend (I'm exaggerating) including Tammy and Ciel (French for "Heaven"). Ciel loves little babies and I think she looks forward to being scooter friends with Hattie someday.

Song for a Future Generation

Hattie and I were digging some music today. Here it is folks: the first song I have ever sung to my baby is The B-52's "Song for a Future Generation."

The Princess Problem

Here is an excellently written essay that I found via Apartment Therapy Nursery, or Ohdeedoh, today. For people who do not understand why anything and everything "Disney Princess" irritates me to the point where I'll justify ranting and raving at an Old Country Buffet, read this essay by Deesha Philyaw. She has actually dealt with this problem first hand whereas I have merely prepared to oppose the introduction of anything Disney Princess since the moment of conception. Deesha spells it out better than I can. In summary: I hate Disney. Do not buy Disney products for my daughter. If you do, I will send you a thank you note, then immediately throw it in my Goodwill box. I am not kidding.

Hattie is Three Weeks Old Today

To celebrate, we did not have a bath. We got dressed in our favorite cherry dress from Jen Homer, and went out in the dreaded infant safety car seat. We hit Starbucks drive-thru, Hapo, and then Target! Whooooo! Then we came home, had a bottle, hung out with the cats, took some really unflattering photos and Mommy ate a box of Good & Plenty for lunch. Memories to last a lifetime!

What is Daddy doing?

A) Trying to scare the baby.

B) Trying to teach the baby about helmet safety.

C) Wistfully wishing he could unload the baby on Mommy so he can go ride the Triumph.

The Sling's the Thing

What is this strange contraption I'm wearing? This is the Peanut Shell sling, and I'll tell ya- what a great way to haul the baby, cover post-baby belly bulge, and evoke panic within the hearts of the uninitiated. I'll admit, I was afraid Hattie would fall right out of this slingy thing the first time we placed her in it, but once she settled in, she zonked out and enjoyed the ride. Oddly enough, carrying the baby marsupial style doesn't feel like being pregnant again which is another reason why the sling stands half a chance. And of course...doesn't she look darling???

Hattie loves Daddy

See this zonked-out kid? Her coma is undoubtedly due in part to playing with her Daddy until all hours of the night (ok, until 11:30- then I was up with her until 1 am because she would NOT settle down). No question about it- Hattie loves her Daddy and he loooooooves her. She's fun! Last night they made up some sort of reflex game where he kept grabbing her hand and then she'd pull it back, over and over and over again. He announced, "She's lefthanded." Humpfh. We'll see about that. All I know is, those two have a definite connection.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Strawberry!

Weekly Roundup

Pink onesies, pink onesies...ahhhh...hundreds of pink onesies....I'm pretty sure I dreamt about onesies last night (yes, we both slept). Onesies are great, but as Daddy and I have learned this week, some are better than others. Here is my first consumer report on What Rocks and What Su... what does not Rock when it comes to baby stuff.

1) Thermal receiving blankets: ROCK. Thank you, Amanda K, for turning us on to these thermal gems that are as durable as a female lumberjack. Daddy personally requested more of these; we bought two more. Excellent.

2) Gerber T-shirts (see picture): ROCK. Easy to put on as well as take off, they leave the delicate belly button exposed for healing. Sorry you can't purchase the T-shirt featured above; it was custom designed and trimmed by our favorite arthritic Nana Kay. When will she stop damaging her hands? Probably once Hattie has enough cute custom stuff. Probably not.

3) Gymboree onesies: DO NOT ROCK. I'd say the two onesies I bought at Gymboree suck, but I'm trying to clean up my potty mouth. I love the Peter Pan collars; however, Hattie hates them, Daddy says they make her look like Elvis, and they get in the way of the car seat straps. Lessons learned for mommy (first of many).

4) Boppy pillow: ROCKS. Perfect fit, perfect height, mine is Dwell Studio for Target so it's even stylish. And washable. Yay Boppy.

5) Pampers Sensitives wipes: DO NOT ROCK. Pampers, we love your Swaddlers diapers, but your wipes aren't worthy to wipe Hattie's...bottom. We used a whole box in ten days. Daddy says they soak right through, you have to use at least 5 of them for a poopy diaper, and they are too small.

That's it for this week...stay tuned for what I've been waiting for: Jennifer rates the best and worst baby beauty products. And believe me, Dear Reader, my standards are very high.

Concealer needed, apply here

John and I agree: The number one most annoying comment people said to us while I was pregnant was "Better get some sleep now! Haw haw!" Yeah, well, new parents lose sleep. Duh. Fact of life. Hattie has been great, but last night... ugh. We were up in time to watch our friends do a live segment about scooters on KNDU's "Northwest Today" at 5 am. I suppose the choice between rolling out of bed and onto a scooter at 4:45 am in the freezing cold or snuggling a gassy baby from 2 until 6 am isn't that tough of a choice. At least she was warm!

Hattie Jane meets Elijah Joseph

File this one under "things I never thought I'd see in my lifetime." This is Eli, the son of my high school cohorts Dori Luzzo and Joe Gilmour. Eli, who was born in March, weighed 10 pounds at birth. Dori said he is wearing 3 month clothing already. We all had quite a giggle propping them up for the first of many photos we'll be taking of these two. It could have been the irony...or it could have been the wine...

"Kooks" by David Bowie

"Will you stay in our lover's story? If you stay, you won't be sorry cuz we believe in you/ Soon you'll grow, so take a chance with a couple of kooks hung up on romancing."

This song is very special to me. It's off my favorite album of all time, Hunky Dory, by my favorite artist of all time, David Bowie. I asked John to place this song to this video. I just can't imagine anything better.

Hattie Jane is just precious. We can't believe she's ours, but it's starting to dawn on us. The first day was so fun- we just took a ton of pictures and enjoyed staring at her. I'm sure anyone who has ever had a baby spent the first day (and many thereafter) just staring at their kid and trying to distinguish features, mannerisms, and so on. Hattie sleeps with one fist propped under her cheek just like her daddy. Hattie makes funny faces that resemble her mom's expressions, according to Daddy. When we first saw her in the operating room, John and I both could not grasp the concept that she was our baby. Our reactions were different than what we had expected (for example, I didn't burst into tears. I was in shock.) I remember my friend Emily telling me that when she saw her daughter, she somehow recognized her. When John brought Hattie over to me, I got to look at her for about five minutes before they were whisked away. I examined her little face and finally I saw her eyelashes. When I realized she had John's eyelashes, I realized she was indeed our baby!

She's here!!!

Hattie Jane Reed was born on May 1, 2008, at 9:02 AM. She weighed 8 lbs, 3 oz, and measured 18 inches long.