Rosiebebe at Almost 3.5 Years Old

A. Her Schedule – Left to her own devices, she'll wake up at the crack of dawn and go to bed whenever we go to bed, but her bedtime is 8:00 p.m.

B. Her Size – She's wearing size 5 clothing or extra-small, which is only one size smaller than our 6-year old. She's wearing size 10 shoes.

C. Her Personality – She is a pretty outgoing, friendly child. It's been weird having her spend basically half her entire life during a global pandemic when socializing (like at the playground) has been discouraged.

D. Her Favorite Things

• Colors: Pink and red.
• Shows and Movies: She still likes Disney movies but she watches a lot of YouTube videos too.
• Books: She does not have a favorite book.
• Toys and Play: She still really likes babydolls and all of the accessories. She also likes Duplos. She also likes tiny toys like Hatchimals. And she likes PlayDoh.
• Art: She loves drawing with markers (both dry erase and regular).
• Activities: She loves socializing with other friends, be they younger or older than her. She is drawn to babies like a moth to a flame - she loves meeting babies and enthusiastically saying "So cute! So cuddly!" to them.
• Time of Day: She is an early bird.
• Bedding: She has a pink blanket and a rainbow-colored pillow.
• Clothing: She'll wear anything but she tends to be a girlie-girl if left to her own devices. She likes floral prints and the Houndstooth pattern in particular.
• Foods: Besides milk, she likes chocolate and other sweet things.
• Animals: She's not as into animals as her older brothers. That being said, she likes puppies and birds.
• Heroes/Characters: Frozen's Elsa and Anna.

E. Things She Does Not Like – Bedtime. Eating most foods - she is a picky eater and is quick to label foods as "Ewww, gross!"

F. What She’s Thinking About – She is really into babies, including her own little brother. She declares her love for him daily. For the most part, he tolerates her affection, but it is a bit of a lopsided relationship.

G. Surprises – I'm a bit surprised that she's so into babies as I was not when I was a little girl. Though that may be because I didn't have a lot of exposure to babies whereas she has met them at daycare (pre-pandemic), not to mention living with a baby brother in her bedroom!

H. Best & Worst Things –

• The best thing(s): She has a pretty good relationship with her oldest brother.
• The worst thing(s): She is so incredibly loud. She talks loudly and continuously, and she sings even louder.

I. Family and Friends – She has a little buddy who is slightly older than her - her "buddy" is one of my BFF's children. Sometimes, they sweetly talk, hold hands, and play together. Other times, they fight bitterly over any given toy that they both want to play with at the same time.

J. Parenting or What I’m Doing Differently – Parenting during a pandemic is a weird experience. On the one hand, I am getting far more time near her than I otherwise would. On the other hand, ordinary experiences like taking her to the store aren't happening. She is still very confused by the concept of stores - places where you go and see things in packages but they're not yours, and you can't open them or take them with you when you leave.

K. Milestones – She's pretty good at counting and knowing her letters.

Rosie, at Age 2.5

A. Her Schedule – She wakes up at about 7 a.m., takes a nap at about 1:30 p.m., and goes to bed at between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m.

B. Her Size – She's wearing size 3T clothes and size 9 shoes.

C. Her Personality – She's a very sweet, friendly, good-natured child. She loves people, especially babies. She also loves singing and has memorized so many songs!

D. Her Favorite Things

• Colors: Red, pink, and aqua.
• Shows and Movies: She likes Yo Gabba Gabba, Peppa Pig, and Mickey Mouse.
• Books: She likes Dr. Seuss.
• Toys and Play: She really likes dollhouse-style play (setting up a "house," putting "furniture" in it, and then putting "characters" in it). She also loves bath-time play, from bath bombs to playing with kitchen toys in there.
• Art: She loves drawing with markers and creating with Play Doh.
• Activities: She loves being outside. She likes the slides at the playground the best, but is also happy just walking around or playing in her "sandy box" (sandbox).
• Time of Day: Any time that she's not being put to bed.
• Bedding: She has a couple of pink fleece blankets.
• Clothing: She likes "girlie" clothing best, from dresses to items with lace, ruffles, or floral designs.
• Foods: She likes Danimals, McDonald's, Goldfish crackers ("goldie fish"), juice, and milk.
• Animals: She is far more fascinated by babies than by animals. She is even afraid of our dog and rabbit, despite that they are fat, gentle creatures.
• Heroes/Characters: She doesn't really seem to care about superheroes. I guess her favorite character might be Peppa Pig.

E. Things She Does Not Like – Bedtime.

F. What She’s Thinking About – How to reliably get Alexa to sing her songs. She can easily get Alexa to play "Baby Shark" but something like "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is much harder.

G. Surprises – Possibly how into babies she is. I'm also surprised that she seems to know all of her ABC's, something that "The Bear" didn't learn until halfway through Kindergarten.

H. Best & Worst Things –

• The best thing(s): When she says "thank you" or cuddles.
• The worst thing(s): That she takes all of the toys out all of the time. It makes it impossible to stay on top of the mess.

I. Family and Friends – She's a bit of a social butterfly so Covid has been harder for her than my oldest child. She seems to glob on to any kids she sees.

J. Parenting or What I’m Doing Differently – She has never been at a daycare center, and honestly, I think that's a good thing. Daycare centers have a lot of noise and activity, and I think that can be overwhelming and draining for most kids. And that's before factoring in that my older kids, who both went to large centers, got sick a lot during that time.

2-Year-Old Rosie-Baby Update

Before I kick off this post I'd like to add a program note that we're in Covid-19 quarantine. The daycares and schools are closed. So, that situation affects some of what's below.

A. Her Schedule – Since quarantine, our daily schedule has moved back a bit. Rosie usually gets up around 7 a.m. and goes to bed around 7:30 p.m. She usually wants one nap a day.

B. Her Size – She’s wearing between a size 2T and 3T and size 6 shoes.

C. Her Personality – She is probably the sweetest of my three kids. She loves us and she lets us know. She can be very persuasive in getting what she wants, whether it's the iPad or another potato chip ("tato CHIP").

D. Her Favorite Things

• Colors: She will wear other colors but she really likes pink. She also likes when her clothes have flowers on them.
• Shows and Movies: She still watches Yo Gabba Gabba (her favorite character is Foofa, the pink one), but also now really likes Peppa Pig, and both Frozen movies (which she calls "Anna").
• Toys, Play, and Art: Since quarantine and me moving her toys and books into her room, and getting more screen time, her interest in books has seriously waned. As far as toys, she likes her Elmo doll, little things (like Shopkins), a horse figurine, and toy cars. For a while she was really into magnets but that interest has also waned. As far as art, she likes coloring, and will request "paper" and "red."
• Time of Day: Any time she's outside.
• Bedding: She still has her pink horseshoe fuzzy blankets but doesn't usually sleep under them. I guess she gets hot.
• Foods: She likes bananas, grapes, and applesauce as far as healthy foods go. As far as less than healthy choices, she likes juice, Lucky Charms marshmallow cereal, and potato chips.
• Activities: I can't think of anything she wants to do more than zone out on an iPad. That being said, she also seems to like going for walks, pushing her giant toy car, and going for rides in the motorized kids' tractor.
• Animals: She seems to like animals, though no type in particular. She's pretty gentle with our dog and cat.
• Heroes: She may be too young for this one.

E. Things She Does Not Like – She used to hate sitting in her high chair so now I just let her sit in a regular chair like the rest of us.

F. What She’s Thinking About – She seems to know a lot of words. I wonder about the impact being away from her/our friends and her daycare provider is having on her. We have been trying to potty train her but the only part of the process she'll do is to sit on the kid potty.

G. Surprises – How infectious her smiles are, and how she cracks herself up.

H. Best & Worst Things –

• The best things: When she gives me a hug. When she holds a toy up to me and says "cute!" or pushes her car and says "fun" or "like it!"
• The worst things: Her fascination/obsession with screens.

I. Family and Friends – I think she's an extrovert. During quarantine I asked her "What do you need?" expecting an answer like "Milk." Instead, she looked longingly outside at our neighbors and said "Friends."

J. Parenting or What I’m Doing Differently – We are off the charted map at this point due to the whole Covid-19 situation. Things like going to the playground or playdates aren't happening - the playgrounds are closed. Going to the pool is out of the question - our rec. centers are all closed. Sure, we walk around the neighborhood plenty, but that has gotten quite dull.

21-Month Rosie-Bebe Update

A. Her Schedule – She wakes up about 6:30 a.m., takes her nap of the day around 10:00 a.m. (early, I know), and goes to sleep at about 6:30 p.m. When she sleeps she likes it daaark in her room.

B. Her Size – 23 lbs. 6 oz. (42nd percentile), 35” tall (95th percentile), and 19” head circumference (86th percentile) as of May 7. She’s wearing size 24-month clothes and size 5 shoes, though her shoes are getting small on her.

C. Her Personality – She is very sweet. She knows the word “hug” and willingly gives them. She can be very cuddly, preferring to eat some of her meals in my lap. She can get fiery when she doesn’t get her way – getting loud and dramatic, and even storming off abruptly. She has a sense of fairness and will appeal to me if her older brother takes something away from her.

D. Her Favorite Things

·                     Colors: PINK.

·                     Shows and Movies: Yo Gabba Gabba, which she calls “Foofa” after one of the characters. She also loves Kids YouTube, particularly things involving “Baby Shark” or babies.

·                     Toys, Play, and Art: She still really likes holding baby dolls. She’s willing to happily scribble with crayons. She also really likes having books read to her and will go get book upon book for you to read to her.

·                     Time of Day: Probably the very beginning of her day. She can be pretty crabby and tired by dinnertime.

·                     Bedding: She still has her pink horseshoe fuzzy blankets, though she usually sleeps beside them instead of under them.

·                     Foods: She likes fruit, especially berries, and also yogurt and meat. She knows the words “eat” and “meat.”

·                     Activities: She likes being outdoors, and playing in the play room, and really likes using my cell phone, even though of course I try to limit screentime.

·                     Animals: She knows the words “cat” and “dog” (and likes both), but also “bear” and “baa” (for sheep). She seems fascinated by our cat.

·                     Heroes: Perhaps me.

E. Things She Does Not Like – When she asks for and does not receive my cell phone. Also, sitting in her highchair.

F. What She’s Thinking About – She seems to be trying hard to learn a lot of new words. She surprised me the other day by knowing the word “heart.”

G. Surprises – I’m surprised her single nap of the day is so early in the day.

H. Best & Worst Things –

·                     The best things: Her smile. When she says “Mama.” How she’s good with her hands, like when she manipulates objects.

·                     The worst things: How she’s obsessed with phones.

I. Family and Friends – I think she’s a pretty happy camper when we visit family or friends.

J. Parenting or What I’m Doing Differently – She’s definitely got a slower pace of life at the family-based daycare we’ve got her in as compared to the boys, who went to a center at this age. I think the slower pace might be better for kids age two and under.

Rosiebebe is 15 Months Old

At Bear's Birthday Party

A. Her Schedule – She wakes up at about 6:30 a.m., even on the weekends, but she’s willing to hang out in her room until about 7 a.m., when she starts jiggling her door handle.

B. Her Size – I think she has relatively long legs.

• Weight: 22 lbs. (40th percentile)
• Height: 31.25 inches (75th percentile)

C. Her Personality – She’s generally really sweet and friendly. She likes hugs and being held. She seems like she’s going to be talkative once she figures out how words work (right now she’s big on grunting and other non-verbal noises to let you know what she wants). She seems like she’s going to be a pretty tenacious individual, as she is quite persistent about going after what she’s decided she wants.

D. Her Favorite Things

• Colors: Light pink, perhaps, and maybe blue too.
• Shows: Yo Gabba Gabba.
• Toys, Play, and Art: She doesn’t do much art, which is one down side of having her in a home-based daycare instead of at a center. She likes her baby dolls. She also wants to be allowed to play with the boys, even if they would rather keep to themselves.
• Time of Day: Hard to say – any time there are people around – she seems like a people person!
• Bedding: She has a pink fuzzy blanket and loves sleeping in her toddler bed.
• Foods: Fruit. This baby (ahem, toddler) loves fruit. She also likes the marshmallows in Lucky Charms cereal. And fruit squeezies (baby food pouches).
• Activities: We take a Baby & Me swim class together that she seems to like.
• Animals: She loves feeding our dog from her high chair, even though we’ve tried to discourage this.
• Heroes: None that I’m aware of.

E. Things She Does Not Like – Being kept up late. She likes to go to sleep at about 7 p.m. Also, being kept in her highchair when she's finished eating, even if the rest of us are still eating - she will let us know she's done by handing us all of her leftover food.

F. What She’s Thinking About – I think she’s a pretty happy child, though I’m not sure what she spends most of her time thinking about.

G. Surprises – How persistent she is at taking a barrette out of her hair. You’d think that having hair clipped out of her face would be preferable to “Struggling Musician” hair in her face, but apparently not.

H. Best & Worst Things –

• The best things: How everything she does seems like the cutest thing that has ever been done to me. Also, that Bear is now taking an interest in her (Serious Kiddo has always been sweet with her).
• The worst things: She can get quite loud when she’s unhappy (e.g. when I don’t let her have my cell phone), and this greatly upsets my significant other.

I. Family and Friends – Thankfully, she has a couple of similarly aged little cousins in New England, and one future BFF locally who is about the same age.

J. Parenting or What I’m Doing Differently – These moments when she’s so young are so fleeting and precious – they will be gone before I’m ready, I’m sure. I barely remember Serious Kiddo at this age. I hope that I remain close to my children as they grow up and move out and on to (hopefully) great things.

Size 4 Crocs, the Only Shoes That'll Stay On

Rosiebebe is One!

A. Her Schedule – She usually wakes up at about 6:30 a.m., eats breakfast, then takes a nap at 10 a.m. (early, I know). She also takes an afternoon nap, usually around 3 p.m. She eats dinner with us but usually starts getting cranky at 6:30 p.m. and is fast asleep by about 7:00 p.m.

B. Her Size & Health – At her one-year checkup she was 20 lb 2 oz (55th percentile). She was 30” long (80th percentile). Her head circumference was 17.75 (55th percentile). Her hemoglobin was 13.8 (good). Her lead was none. It seems like she’s hardly ever sick – I don’t know if that’s because she’s at a home-based daycare or if she’s just been lucky in that way. She did wear a helmet from about January 1 to about April 22.

C. Her Personality – She’s the sweetest, friendliest baby. She is very interested in engaging with people. She wants to make a personal connection. She’s not too worried about strangers.

D. His Favorite Things

• Colors: Can I say pink?
• Shows: Yo Gabba Gabba. She is fascinated by the TV and our cell phones, but we heavily limit her screentime.
• Toys, Play, and Art: She has some baby dolls and pretend makeup that she plays with.
• Time of Day: I would say after she wakes up from her first nap. She’s always so happy to see us when she wakes up.
• Bedding: She has some pink fuzzy blankets.
• Foods: She loves fruit, especially strawberries. She’s only had chocolate a couple of times but she loved it. She wants to eat whatever we’re eating.
• Activities: She likes being held. She likes being around people. She’s never one to voluntarily leave a party. I'm trying to take her to stores and restaurants with me so that she gets used to being at these types of places.
• Animals: She can now say “cat” and “dog,” so I think she likes our pets, but she’s far more interested in people than animals, it seems.
• Heroes: I can’t say. She does seem to really enjoy my company. I wonder if I’m her hero?

E. Things She Does Not Like – Pasta.

F. What She’s Thinking About – I’m not sure, but she seems like a mellow, good tempered person. She doesn’t seem anxious, although she is cautious. I’m sure that she has the ability to walk but chooses not to because she’s afraid of falling.

G. Surprises – I’ve probably said it before on this blog, but having this girl has been the best surprise – I went from wondering if I could handle being the parent of a girl to relishing basically every minute.

H. Best & Worst Things –

• The best things: I look forward to her growing up and developing lasting, positive relationships with her brothers and me too.
• The worst things: When she does scream or cry, her voice is a higher pitch than my sons, and it drives my husband up the walls. It sounds fine to me, but to him it’s apparently very painful.

I. Family and Friends – I worry if our family is getting too large for people to comfortably invite us over to their homes.

J. Parenting or What I’m Doing Differently – I am so excited to have the chance to explore parenting a daughter! I don’t want to go completely crazy with pink and rainbows and unicorns. But I do want the world to treat her as sweetly as befits her sweet personality. She’s such a gentle being.

Six-Month Rosiebebe Update

Surprises

If I’m being completely honest, I was somewhat apprehensive about having a daughter – I didn’t know what to expect. But, it’s been wonderful – much better than expected. She’s such a joy to be around, and is such a happy baby. She’s willing to smile at everyone and is just the sweetest!

The Best Things

I feel an almost magnetic attraction between Rosiebebe and myself. I just love being around her, and I think it helps that at this point in my life, I’m more confident in my childcare-providing skills.

The Worst Thing

It’s still pumping. Breastfeeding is hard. I have read articles that suggest that breastfeeding isn’t actually any healthier for the baby than formula, and I fear they’re right, and that I’m doing all of this for nothing. But I also remember how much Serious Kiddo threw up / spit up as a baby, and how grumpy he was most of the time, and if there’s any chance that it was due to formula, then I don’t want to risk that for Rosiebebe. I have been travelling both for work and to see family, and pumping makes that much more difficult.

Her Personality
She's a very sweet baby!

Her Size
At her five-month appointment almost a month ago, she weighed 5 lbs. 6 oz. (58th percentile) and was 27 inches tall (97th percentile). She has long legs! Her head circumference was 16 1/2 inches (63rd percentile).

Her Favorite Things
She loves feeling the texture of things, from her wood-paneled bedroom walls, to wicker, to our sofa cushions. She likes listening to the sounds things make when she scratches them with her nails. Her favorite toy is currently her moose teether, but she also likes her jumperoo. She has stopped using pacifiers, although sometimes she'll suck her thumb or even her entire hand.

What’s Different This Time Around

I would say that I’ve become more of an actual minimalist, not just an aspiring one, and as such we have less baby stuff around, from clothes to toys. This time around we also have less money due to some unrelated job matters, so we’ve got to be more careful about how we spend our money. And of course, another big difference this time around is that we’re in a different, smaller house than before.

What’s the Same

It’s mom guilt – no matter what I do or how I do it, I’ll always feel mom guilt that I could or should be doing more. I also feel like people are constantly judging me – am I too hands-off as a parent, or not hands-on enough? Was three kids too many? I don’t think so, but even my own parents think it was.

And Now, A Baby Girl

A New Newborn

This spring, I had a baby girl, Rosiebebe (not her legal name).

Being Pregnant
Unlike my previous pregnancies, I was waddling around for the last couple months of her pregnancy. I thought it was because she’d be heavier than the boys. As it later turned out, she was actually lighter than the boys, although she was the longest. She also was quite forceful with her kicking, which make it difficult for me to sleep. I was very surprised when, at around 22 weeks, we found out that this baby was a girl. I experienced some gender disappointment, although that melted away by the time we left the hospital with her.

Her Birth Story

It went better than I expected it to go. At about 9 p.m., I had my first contraction. I went to bed like usual around 10:30 p.m. but I woke up around 1:30 a.m. with more contractions. I did some freelance writing work while things progressed, and called my mom over around 3:30 a.m. so that she could watch the boys while I’d be at the hospital. At about 5:15 a.m., I put down my computer and decided that it was time to get ready to go to the hospital. A funny thing happened – my husband accidentally parked near the wrong hospital building, so we awkwardly made our way to the correct building while I held my pregnant belly in my arms and lucked out by not having any bad contractions while we scooted over to the right place. At about 6:15 a.m. we checked into the hospital. My contractions were never consistent in terms of duration, severity, or frequency. The nurse asked if I’d like a rocking chair since I was doing natural childbirth, and I found that offer very sweet but also kind of silly. I just couldn’t imagine laboring like that. I noticed that the TV in the room was already on and was playing a rerun of the show The Nanny. I also found that kind of odd, and asked my husband to switch it off so that I could focus. My water broke at the hospital while I was laying down. When the pain of the contractions felt unbearable, I decided it was time to push. At 7:53 a.m., this baby was born. It hurt more than Bear's birth, but at least the labor didn’t last long. For the first few minutes of her life, I was mad at her for causing me so much pain, but by the time we checked out of the hospital two days later, I could not be more smitten with her. It took us more than a day to decide on her name, but in the end, she didn’t look like a “Janet” or an “Ember,” and “Violet” sounded more and more like “violent” to me, and Serious Kiddo preferred the name we actually chose to “Penelope.” Serious Kiddo visited us in the hospital, but Bear had to stay home because he was sick. I like that her name is short and to the point, and sweet but not too sweet. I also like that Serious Kiddo was able to help.

Note the folding hands.

Her Personality

She is what I’d call a “good baby” – she sleeps well throughout the night, she’s very mellow, and very reasonable – she doesn’t cry for no reason, and she’ll generally be patient if she knows you’re trying to fix the problem. She learned how to smile relatively quickly, and she’s more than willing to flash you a cheerful smile. She’s very expressive with her feet – stomping them when she’s upset, or kicking them outward when she’s happy. In new situations, or when people she doesn’t know well are fawning over her, she calmly places her hands together. Her reservedness reminds me of myself.

Smiling at about 10 days old.

Breastfeeding
I’m exclusively pumping. It’s hard. Renting a hospital-grade pump for home-use has been helpful. I do not enjoy pumping. Because pumping is not as efficient as directly breastfeeding, I’m losing a lot of time during my day to pumping. I pump at least five times a day, and for at least 25 minutes each time, though some of my power-pump sessions last up to 1 hour 10 minutes.

My Parents
They both love holding the baby. My mom says that she thinks the baby looks like me, and I don't disagree.

How I’m Feeling

Overall, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m thankful that my body was able to create this wonderful, healthy baby. I’m grateful that we’ve been able to expand our family to three children. I’m relieved that her labor and delivery went so well. Even though pumping is very unpleasant, I’m thankful that my body is able to make milk for her. I worry about her while she’s in daycare – I wish there was a way to watch her every moment of the day.

The Best Thing About Right Now
One of the best things about right now is that I’m surprised with how much I love having a girl. Having had only boys up to this point, I really didn’t know what to expect. Having boys is great, but it’s a relief to know that having a girl is also great.