Life with Sofia...after 2 months.

My friends, my beautiful daughter is now over two months old.  It is insane how time flies when you have a kid.  Which is to say when you are sleep deprived and unbelievable tired.  Don't get me wrong, having her is worth being exhausted.  As Michael told his friend Gus: "Pick a cliche, they are all true." I'm just trying to explain why blogging has not been a priority for me.  This blog entry will serve as an update for family and friends; so be warned, it might get mushy.

For the first month after Sofia Carolina was born, my mommy was here to help, which allowed me to enjoy being a mommy without too much stress.  The only real stress came when she had her colic episodes.  I don't know if any of you have taken care of a colicky baby.  It is the most stressful thing I have experienced in my life.  Maybe it's because I'm a new mommy,but your child crying and screaming uncontrollably is a bit much.  Google videos of it if you haven't.  If not, here is a video sample:

That was less than a minute. Now picture this going on for hours. My low point was a Saturday afternoon that Michael was in Atlanta and Sofia did this on and off for 5 hours.  At times, she screamed for 20 minutes straight, and nothing worked to stop it, that was when we were introduced to Gripe water (thank God). It was hard on all of us, but it was hardest on Carlito's bunny:

He does this every time she cries.  The funniest thing is when she starts to fuss, you see him approaching the bunny quietly, as if thinking "I better prepare myself, she may get loud."

Thankfully the colic has gotten better.  Gripe water has been a savior.  It really seems to help her tummy and the scream fests have gone away.  She still screams over hunger at times, but that is easily solved.  I think she is a bit dramatic, but I know she gets it from me since I am a major bitch when I'm hungry.  The colic she gets from Michael, so it is all his fault.  At least he is really good at calming her down.  That is the least he can do, right?

Once my mom left I realized all the little things she was doing for me, and the big ones too.I cannot thank her enough for the things she did those last few weeks of my pregnancy, and the first few weeks of Sofia's life.  I guess she can put it on my tab, since I owe her things I can never repay like: my education, my love of reading, the good genes responsible for no stretch marks, my thick hair and long legs, my smile, allowing me to have a great father even though at times he was a crappy husband, my brothers, oh! and my life.  Thanks just doesn't cover it.

The hardest adjustment for me has been how hard it has been to manage my time and multitask.  I'm the girl who worked full time, while going to grad school part time, planned a wedding long distance, found time to watch 15 hours of TV shows a week, had a three movie netflix subscription, had fun with friends and my fiance, managed a book club, all at once.  I know a lot about multitasking.  It is just harder with Sofia.  I can read a paper back while I breast feed, even catch up on The Daily Show on my DVR.  Still, there is so many things to do and so little time to do them.  It is an adjustment, without a doubt.

As many of you know Michael and I run a family business, and this is our busiest season.  I had baby girl on a Wednesday, Thursday of the next week I was in the office doing payroll.  At first I was going in 2-3 afternoons a week.  My mom was still here watching her for me.  After she left, I started going in daily, but not full time.  Some mornings my mother in law keeps her for me - so I can get more done and they can have grand momma/grand baby time. Otherwise, she goes with me to work every afternoon from 1-6.  Some days we go in by 10 am, it depends on her mood.  Luckily the boss is her daddy.

Sofia is absolutely gorgeous.  I know I am biased, but she is.  Of course, I thought she was the most beautiful baby that ever was from the moment she came out screaming.  Michael, however, confesses he didn't think she was that pretty.  Michael just has not seen many newborns, so he don't know!  All newborns are a little weird looking, I agree.  Especially if they had a vaginal birth.  They have cone heads, and are swollen and wrinkled at the same time. Sofia had all these things, plus she was very red and hairy.  Still, the underlying beauty is there, and I could see not only how beautiful she was then but how beautiful she would become.

Now that she is filling up, she is just blossoming.  Now the fun begins.  She smiles, she coos, she grabs things, follows us with her eyes.  I was reading Dr. Seuss' Alphabet book to her the other evening and she was visibly excited.  Kicking, cooing and yelping in excitement.  She is without a doubt a little miracle. 

By now, most of my friends have seen her sneezing video.  She sneezes a lot (like me) and then she sighs.  It is the cutest thing and it has to be seen to appreciated.  She does it all the time, at least daily.  Those of us who spend time with her find ourselves waiting for it when she sneezes.  If she doesn't sigh, we are all visibly disappointed.  In case you haven't seen it, here it is again:

She is just amazing!  Michael says she is better than a cat.  I say he treats her like a toy.  He says he treats her more like a pet.  First, he pets her hair as if she was Carlito.  Then, he speaks for her as if  he were a ventriloquist.  We discussed this last night.  He says she might as well be a pet, because she can't do much, we clean her poop and feed her and pet her and she just lies around.  He realizes eventually she will sit and then walk and talk and all that stuff, but for now, we will continue to play with her and dress her up in a Georgia Cheerleader outfit she got as a gift. (thanks Sandy!)

This is all in good fun, but Michael is truly obsessed with her intellectual and cultural development.  He is constantly talking to her about equations and other math and science stuff.  She (thus we) sleep to Mozart, and she is constantly exposed to a lot of classical masterpieces.  Not only that, but classic salsa and classic rock as well.  Michael says she is the ultimate Country Rican, and so she should be able to dance salsa and sing Freebird without a problem.  I can't sing to save my life, but little Sofia is comforted by my voice and so I sing to her all the time.  Anything from Lauren Hill to Metallica, and frequently while I breastfeed I sing songs of Puerto Rico.  Not just for the Spanish, but because she needs to know Verde Luz, Preciosa and any other boricua anthem I can think of.

I am happy to report that Michael has loosened up on the pink.  He thinks it looks good on her and so he doesn't mind it as much as he thought.  However, he (and I) still insist on doing our best to overcome gender stereotypes.  We are avoiding the "princess" concept as much as we can, unless its a princess like the one in Enchanted who rescues her prince and chooses her own path.  None of this damsel in distress bs for our little girl.  In support of this concept, my good friend Glianny has given Sofia (and Michael) a pink BB gun, a Daisy.  Yeah, she has to wait a decade to use it but it is too damn cute and daddy can't wait to teach her how to shoot. 

I have told Michael that kids have a way of doing what you don't want them to do most, so this all may be moot.  For all we know she might turn out to be the girliest girl you ever met.  We will keep trying though.  On that note, here is the last video I will subject you folks to.  Her new thing is twirling her hair.  She is two months old, but has enough hair to play with and so she does... constantly.  She might be a bigger flirt than her momma! God help us!