This Week in Mommyhood

I did something this week that completely scared me. I was freaking out the entire time. We spent a night away from home in a completely different city. I know to some this may not seem like a big deal but to me it was. Cati has only ever slept at home at night so I didn't know how she would react to sleeping in her Pack n Play. What if she slept horribly or what if she couldn't sleep? What if I forgot something? What if I left an important pump part at home? I was so hesitant about going away but my options were stay at home alone or go away and have help with Cati. So away we went and it went really well. Cati slept the same for the most part; she only woke up twice at night but was extremely sensitive to all the sounds around her. We didn't run out of anything and Cati had enough milk and food for her trip. I don't know what it is, but even after this successful little trip away from home I still feel like she's too little to go away for an extended period of time. Actually, I do know what it is. I'm afraid that going away will throw her off and make her difficult to deal with. We have such a great routine and I'm afraid that a trip will forever ruin the flow of things. Logically, I know that a few days away from home and our (read: my) comfort zone won't permanently change things but I still get that uneasy feeling of dread and fear of the unknown in my stomach.

Part of the trip was a visit to the beach. Cati loves the water, even when it feels colder than pool water. You can see her little fingers and feet move with the motion of the water and her tongue working on overdrive trying to capture the salty taste.

Cati's crib mattress was moved down to the lowest level this week. I had it on the highest level but Cati learned how to pull herself up and I was worried she might stand and push herself over the edge. I could barely sleep the first night she learned how to pull herself up. Cati has been pulling herself up on everything so I knew she would eventually learn how to pull herself up in her crib, but seeing her sitting in her crib hit me like a ton of bricks. She's getting closer to being a big little girl and to not needing her crib anymore. Every day I look at her and wonder how it's possible for time to have slipped through my fingers undetected. She reminds me less and less of a baby and more and more of a little girl.

This has been a boring food week. The only new thing I introduced Cati to was zucchini. Starting Cati on solids has been a one step forward, two steps backward process. If she likes what she's eating she will eat with real gusto. If she doesn't like what she's eating she goes on a hunger strike and it takes a few days for her to recover. As a result, I try to build up her enjoyment of food by giving her the foods I know she likes after she eats something she doesn't like.

Cati has been a babbling machine this week. When she first discovered her voice she talked nonstop. Then she got used to it and stopped talking as much. I guess there were other body parts and, heck the whole world, to discover. This week, however, she has returned to testing out her voice. She'll say "babababa" and "mamamama" and a whole slew of other things. I've tried getting video of her talking but every time I pull out the camera she stops and stares at it. Let's just say Cati sounds like Donald Duck when she talks. It's so stinking cute.

Is it bad that I can't remember what else happened this week?