Uncategorized Archives - Page 15 of 21 - The Ten Thousand Hour Mama

All about Edie

January 8, 2014catherinemryan

I just saw this article on The Huffington Post, which featured a dad’s response to a day care questionnaire about his 11-month-old’s personality. It cracked me up, and I decided to do one for Edith, too.

My name is Edith Mae

My strengths are

Biting, gnawing, chewing and leaving two tiny teeth marks on just about everything
Furrowing my brow
Anticipating the moment my parents are about to set me in my crib and crying
Blowing spit bubbles and raspberries

My interests are

Smooshed bananas
My dog Finn
Mirrors
The ABC Song

The friends I like to play with are

My hands
My parents’ hands
Anyone else’s hands

My goals are

Finally picking up the print on my parents’ bed sheets
Scooting more and more
Squirming out of the damn car seat
Chewing on everything ever made ever

Six months

January 7, 2014catherinemryan

This morning as I was feeding Edith in bed, I switched her to the other side. Evidently I didn’t get boob number two to her quickly enough because she rolled over, got up on all fours and lunged at me.

Welcome to having a six-month-old!

The taste of Christmas

January 6, 2014January 27, 2017catherinemryan

You know when a recipe includes the instruction “stir like the devil” that it’s going to be good.

My grandma (on my mom’s side, Edith’s daughter) baked and sent my family two tea rings every Christmas since I had memories of carols and presents under a tree. We all knew what treat was inside the box addressed with carefully printed letters that arrived on our doorstep every December.

We never dug into the homemade pastry until Christmas morning. We each ate a slice—or several—as we unpacked stockings. I carefully licked my fingers before pulling out a toothbrush, lotto cards and an orange so I wouldn’t smudge my stocking with sticky cinnamon filling.

For me, the soft bread made gooey by butter and baked brown sugar is the taste of the holidays. So when I learned that Grandma wasn’t planning on baking tea ring this year, I knew I had to step up. (Recipe below.)

One of the best things about baking tea ring is your house smells like cinnamon rolls for days.

Happy New Year

January 1, 2014catherinemryan

Last year Eric and I went to a New Year’s Eve party, where we announced to friends we were having a Peeper. I drank water and checked the labels of certain cheeses to see if they were pasteurized. We left by 11. I had gotten into my pajamas and was washing off my makeup when Eric popped his head into the bathroom and kissed me. “Happy New Year,” he said.

This year, I managed to get Edith to sleep just shy of 10pm, and I followed as soon as I could after that. I woke up when the neighbors at our beach rental lit off fireworks and banged on pots and pans—which is how we used to celebrate the beginning of a new year when I was a kid.

What a difference a year makes.

2013 was challenging, confusing, tumultuous, painful and tiring.

It was also the best year of my life.

May the New Year bring us all happiness, opportunities to grow, adventure and chances to make lasting memories. Oh, and a good deal more sleep.

Happy 2014!

We welcomed the New Year from the Oregon Coast, one of my favorite places on the planet.

Staring down six months

December 29, 2013catherinemryan

Every month, I take stock of the milestones and changes I have seen in Edie over the previous 30 days or so. I always marvel at how much more grown up she is, the new things she can do and what she’s trying to master. Marking each month’s “birthday” is a way for me to keep track of time and celebrate her accomplishments.

Edie will be six months old in a few days. I’m excited, in awe (how is she almost a half a year already?) and ready to try new things, like feeding her solid food. But I’m also feeling down because of the approaching landmark.

I thought things would be easier by this point.

Edie hates car rides, too. I went through a mountain of toys to appease her on our latest trip to Eugene.

You can’t handle the tooth!

December 18, 2013catherinemryan

The gummy grin that I love so much is now less gummy: Edith got her first tooth this week.

Her bottom right tooth popped through after a night of her waking every hour. She had been drooling, chewing and putting everything in her mouth for months but had ramped up the teething routine a few weeks ago. Now we know why!

Swearing off parenting advice

December 12, 2013catherinemryan

I’m considering an early New Year’s resolution: to not read any more parenting articles online.

I just finished this one, about what babies need, and I’m pissed. While it’s probably mostly right, it also makes me feel judged. I’m so sick of hearing how stopping breastfeeding before the kid is a year old will make her ill, how sleeping in another room will cause her to become malnourished, or how doing any number of things wrong will “undermine their trust of others, their health and social wellbeing, and lead to self-centered morality which can do much destruction to the world.”

This article isn’t the only one of its kind. As a mom, I feel as if I am constantly bombarded with messages saying I am not doing enough, or what I am doing is wrong.

Five months

December 11, 2013catherinemryan

The last month was an eventful one for our family. We traveled to New York and then to the Bahamas, marking Peeper’s first plane rides and her first passport stamp. She also went swimming for the first time, took her first subway ride and met some dinosaurs.

The fourth floor of the American Museum of Natural History is my favorite place in New York.

Baby’s breath

November 27, 2013catherinemryan

The last week has been a hard one. I’m not sure exactly why, which made me feel even worse whenever I sagged onto the edge of the bed crying.

Surely my low mood stems from the confluence of many factors. We returned from a wonderful vacation full of vitamin D and family and friends who helped with Edie. I have been racing against a deadline for a writing assignment. It’s been a struggle to arrange interviews around Eric’s work and Edie’s naps. And Edie’s sleeping schedule is still confused after our switch in time zones, which means I’m up with her more often. Two nights ago, for example, I wadded up a bath towel and used it as a pillow on the floor of the nursery as she babbled and played with her feet at 3am.

Baby as your wedding plus-one

November 26, 2013catherinemryan

“After all, what’s better than love?”

“Waaah!”

Edith waited for the perfect timing to yell during our friends’ wedding ceremony. She, apparently, can think of several things better than love: milk, naps, milk, boobs, milk. At least she didn’t pipe up when the officiant asked if anyone objected to the marriage.

Our good friends James and Laura got married two weeks ago in New York, and we were lucky enough to be able to join them for the celebration.

The happy couple quit the dance floor for a few moments to say goodbye to Edie. — The happy couple quit the dance floor for a few moments to pose with Edie, who thought her fancy dress tasted delicious.