Tuesday, August 30, 2011

10 Weeks

Matilda's 10th week got off to a rough start as she received her first dose of shots at the doctor's office. I will never forget her little face when she got the first prick. It was a heart-breaking mix of sadness and "why are you being so mean, I was being so good..." But, she pretty much slept all day (a special treat for me), and was her old self the next day.


She got her 'digits' at this appointment and as predicted we learned that she is a LONG thing.
11 lb, 12 oz     (50th percentile)
24.5" long        (off the charts-->95%)
14" head           (25th percentile)



She attended her first block party with the Schuster's, and managed to sleep through most of it--loud band playing and all. Which continues to baffle me as the smallest noise at home seems to startle her awake.

She attended her first wedding where she promptly enjoyed her first polka with Mama! She seemed to enjoy the dance floor with the bright lights and music pumping. I foresee many dance parties in our future.





Matilda also got her first bug bite which was right on her face, and made her look like she was going through early puberty. :)

Other than that, Matilda continues to munch those little hands, is working on 'talking' to us, and trying to grab more and more objects. She is full of smiles, and quite the squirmy worm. She doesn't like to be held 'like a baby' but either up over the shoulder or facing out.

We are still working on tummy time too. As you can see she is more interested in munching on her hands then lifting that noggin of hers!


Monday, August 29, 2011

Family Fun

This weekend was a weekend filled with celebration as my cousin Paul got married in La Crosse to his beautiful girlfriend, Sara! Welcome to the fam! The wedding was gorgeous, as was the couple.





The 'other Ekern' clan descended upon WI as well, which ALWAYS makes for a good time. Needless to say all of the children were spoiled with lots of snuggles and kisses. Looking at my pictures, I think Emily was the true baby hog...because in all of them she has one of the babes.


And, there was more celebrating to be done as it is Leo's 1st birthday next week!

All of this celebrating really tuckered the little guy out, as he fell asleep in his high chair mid-Cheerio:
It was super fun to spend so much time with everyone, enjoy good food, good company,and  a mean game of bags.



It's weekends like these that make me sad that we don't all live closer to one another, but thankful that when we do get together we always have a good time.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Munchie

When Nate and I were discussing baby names, we had very few criteria (if you can even call it that).

1) We wanted something unique, and not a name our baby would share with 1 million other kids in their class.

2) Nate really wanted the name to be 'nicknamable'. He is a huge fan of nicknames, and gives them out whenever they come to him. I'm pretty sure he has at least a dozen names for me.

So, we decided on Matilda for our girl name. Unique? Check. Nicknamable?

Hmm..well there is Tillie (which we LOVE), Tilda, Til, Mattie (which is strictly off-limits unless Matilda decides for herself she wants to be called that since it is grossly overused these days..), Matilda Mae, M&M, and more.

But no one could have predicted the number one nickname of affection we tend to call our babe:

Munchie.

Because this kid is ALWAYS munchin' on her hands. And now she has started munching on blankets, toys, anything she has in her hands. And so, Munchie is seemingly a nickname that has stuck for now. And I have to say I think it fits her perfect.

Well, that an "Tootin' Tillie" which Finn named her. Also appropriate because she does toot a lot.

But for now she is Munchie. She is Tillie. She is Til. She is Matilda Mae, and Matilda. She is stealing our hearts every day, with every little smile...and munch.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

2 Months

We're back!

We had an AMAZING time up North with my parents. I am feeling rested, refreshed and ready for the next 10 weeks of maternity leave. While we were up there Matilda had her 2 month birthday. We didn't do much to celebrate since Matilda and I were the queen supreme party poopers--sleeping by 8:30 almost every night.

Tillie has had some great milestones these last few weeks.

8 weeks: 11 pounds 1 oz



We discovered her first allergy: soy, which is surprisingly in everything.

She has started to grab for objects a little more, which makes Daddy's morning cup of coffee a little more dangerous.

First Packer game! (which she was decked out for by Aunt Marna!)

Lots and lots of smiles these days, and the beginnings of what I am sure will be a slay-your-heart-cute giggle.

9 Weeks





First Boat Ride and trip up North! It was a quick ride, but she didn't cry once!


Matilda has really found her hands  this week and spends lots of time checking them out. We were adamant before having children that we wouldn't allow thumb-sucking, but this girl LOVES her hands, and is about 2 weeks from finding it, and I don't think Nate or I would even consider stopping her at this point.


She gave us our first 9 hour sleep, which was AMAZING. I'm not sure if it was the fresh air up north, the cool babysitter that came to hang with her, or the fact that she didn't sleep all afternoon, but either way I'll take it.

Matilda is 'talking' a lot more and when she gets on a roll with her cooing it is pretty hilarious. She gets a very serious look on her face.

We have her two month appointment tomorrow. I already told Nate he has to hold her while she gets the shots because I know I won't be able to stand it!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Guess Who's Getting a Pony?

Last night, we attended my friend's son's 2nd birthday party, and there were pony rides (what a lucky 2 year old right?). We got Matilda her party-wear:
As, I stared hazily off at the kids on the ponies (and I say hazily because Matilda hasbeen not great at sleeping this week), and say to her: "Matilda, if you sleep 6 hours in a row tonight I will buy you a pony."'

Well, unfortunately for Matilda, she missed it by 30 minutes. i think she WOULD have made it but a storm came through and I'm fairly certain the loud cracks of thunder woke her up.

And so a few more lesson's of motherhood came my way yesterday:
1) She is her mother's daughter. Just give the girl a goal.....
2) Don't offer up bribe's you aren't willing to follow through on, although I feel like a miniature pony would totally fit in our backyard and maybe alleviate the lawn-mowing duties.

And as an added bonus, Matilda got her first pony ride:



I am headed north with Matilda to spend a week with my parents so there will be air silence for the next week, but  I promise lots of cute out-doorsy pictures of Matilda when I return!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

7 Weeks

This week Matilda weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds, 4 oz. And I am proud to say that at 7 weeks, she has finally caught up to what I weighed at birth. Whoa.
 This week started a little rocky, with Matilda continuing her war on sleep, but by the end of the week (and our new "babies only should be awake for 2 hours max" schedule) things started to look up (also, Super Grandma was in town....always keep this in mind).




Every week brings new fun milestones now.


Matilda started blowing bubbles (and drooling)


We spent our first night apart, with Matilda transitioned to the nursery and her crib. She did great! Slept for 5 hours straight which was a huge win from the previous nights of only 2 hours at a time.


Matilda had her first night of being babysat by Grandma! Nate and I went to a movie, where Nate enjoyed the movie and I checked my phone every 10 minutes hoping everything was alright (but I also enjoyed the movie)


And in general, there are more smiles, more coos, and more activity. She is really liking some of her 'toys' now, and likes to spend a few minutes under a mobile, or her activity mat. She likes to listen to you read books, and still LOVES her changing table (which continues to baffle Nate and I--but we don't ask questions).



Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Feats of Strength

Watching Survivor, Amazing Race, or any other reality show that required people to hold onto a bar  for a long period of time, balance a bucket on their head for a long time, etc I knew I could never be on those shows for those challenges alone.

I simply did not believe that I would ever be able to endure something like that for that long without just giving up.

Enter my appointment at the VW dealership yesterday. It was an 8:15 appointment. I went in early hoping to beat teh other 8:15 appointments as Matilda would need to eat and get back to sleep by 10 in order for our day to go alright. It had already been a weird morning from a feed/sleep perspective.

We got to the waiting room at 8:04, and by 8:09 Tillie started fussing. So I snuggled her into a blanket and started the sway, shush, paci move.

And I did it for 90 minutes. And she slept.

My left arm had ZERO feeling left in it (in fact I am surprised I still have use of my hand). And I made a lot of promises to a lot of people that if this child would just keep sleeping until they called my name I would....(fill in the blank). And she woke up, but I got her back down (a major accomplishment in my book).

The main takeaway for me was that now I can apply to be on reality tv, because all I have to do when I am standing above a mud pit balanced on a little log holding onto water buckets trying to do it the longest...is envision that my daughter sleeping depended on me continuing to do this task.

Because I would honestly do anything to get this one, and keep this one, sleeping. :

Monday, August 8, 2011

Magazine Cuisine: Episode 15


This is not a fake out. We actually tried a new recipe this weekend. Which also means we actually cooked and are not thriving solely off of food others have made for us. HUGE win.

Of course, the only reason we were actually able to pull this off is the extra hands we had around (see previous Super Grandma post), but let a victory be a victory. We cooked. Something new.

And the lucky dish was: Green Bean and Potato Salad. It is from a quarterly magazine called Cuisine At Home. Lots of yummy recipes!


As an added bonus, this was the first of the green beans from our garden (yes, we have a garden and yes it is severely neglected), and we used up the potatoes from our crop share in way beyond just putting them in foil and grilling them along with the protein of the day.

It was a good dish. Mom and Nate tried to sneak some onions in, and were successful in the getting them in, not the sneaking part....

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Super Grandma

The last 7 weeks have not been easy. I wish I could write about how much Matilda and I are on the go, and how we take family naps in the middle of the day, and cuddle while she sleeps so peacefully. But Matilda is a 'spirited child' and has definitely given me a run for my money.

Don't get me wrong. I still get to enjoy snuggles and cuddles. And am loving her smiles, coos, and personality. But the point is, I have had some difficult days.

And luckily, I am blessed to have a Mom that is 'Super Grandma' and has come to the rescue a number of times. It feels like every time she comes up there is a different 'need'. From just general recuperation after having Matilda, to providing an extra pair of hands to help cook/clean/swaddle/cuddle/etc. And this weekend Super Grandma even managed to get Nate and I out of the house on our first date (where we went to a movie), and our first run post Matilda.

Nate and I are so appreciative of all of her help, love and support, and we couldn't have gotten through the last few months without her.

I swear I need to make her a cape--she could wear it whenever she comes up. I don't have a picture of Super Grandma, but here is a recent pic of Matilda!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The New Form of Communication

What I am learning with every passing day, is that the more sleep matilda gets, the better and more she will keep sleeping.

So I am on a vigilant war path to ensure she gets every possible minute of sleep she will take.

Exhibit A:

I hung out at my neighbor's house on Sunday who kindly let me squat in her air conditioning since ours was broke and it was disgusting outside. Fast forward to Matilda falling asleep in my arms, over my shoulder and her napping for about 1.5 hours--while my bicep is shaking and Sina and I exchange very soft whispered conversation that whole time. I think I am going to have one really large bicep and one tiny one by the end of this newborn stage.

Exhibit B:

Nate stays home from work on Monday. I get Matilda to sleep and am so petrified of her waking up (because her morning snoozes were lackluster at best) that I refuse to talk to him. So he sits at the kitchen table to do his school paper and we communicate via text message. Yup. Text Message. Even though we were approximately 12 feet away from each other.

I know I need to get better about putting her down to sleep. But if she falls asleep in my arms or on me, I would rather sit and watch paint dry for 4 hours if it meant she would sleep. And with each nap that that happens during, I become more and more accepting of the fact that I can't and won't get anything done. Well, maybe becoming very acquainted with every scratch, nick and dent in our walls. But other than that, nothing.

Monday, August 1, 2011

6 Weeks

We did it! We made it to the 6 week mark. The week that I've heard so many Mom's say things start to turn around, get better, more enjoyable etc! It feels like a huge relief and accomplishment all at the same time.

Matilda continues to grow, and although I don't know exactly how much she weighs, I know for sure it is over 9 pounds. She is destined to be a chunk just like her Mom.


 We had lots of first this week:

1) First smile at Mama! It was one of my favorite moments of motherhood so far. I hope the smiles keep coming.
2) Starting to make eye contact.
3) First week of acid reflux medicine. Poor little thing gags and writhes anytime I eat anything acidic. It seems to have definitely helped.
4) First trip to the MN zoo with some of Mama's friends.
5) First date with Daddy while Mom went to get a pedicure!
6) First new Mommy class, with 9 other babies (where you promptly pooped your pants twice, one of which was a major blow out)
7) First week you decided you really do enjoy the bathtub--well for about 10 minutes...
8) First time checking out (and enjoying) the mobile that Max and Otto are letting us borrow.
9) First Book Club appearance where you were very well behaved--and up for like 4 hours
10) First time sleeping for longer than 4 hours at night! (which was greatly appreciated by both of us, especially since it happened 2 nights in a row!)