2 Months Old!!! : "Look Who's Talkin' Now"

I can't believe our little Molly is now TWO MONTHS OLD!!! The time just seems to be flying by. She now weighs 11 lbs. and is 21.75 inches long. You can definitely see the weight gain in her chubby little cheeks and her breastfed-baby thunder thighs :-) She has also learned many new skills in the last few weeks, our favorite of which is her ultra-charming smile. She used to save up all her smiles for her time on the changing table (something about nakedness just makes her happy), but she's been sharing her smiles more liberally this week, even flashing a few smiles at strangers and melting their hearts on the spot!

Another new skill Molly's impressing us with is her ability to carry on a "conversation". We always talk to her about everything that's going on around her and then we pause to give her a chance to respond. Well, lately, she's taken full advantage of her turn in the conversation to delight us with a symphony of oohs, ahhs, and gurgles. The funny thing is that she always matches her "words" with a dramatic series of hand gestures and facial expressions. She reminds me of an Italian grandmother who uses her whole body to speak expressively. The following is a series of pictures I took over the course of 5-minute conversation with Molly. Next time, I'll have to catch it on video so you can hear all the adorable sounds that go along with the faces. I'd love to know what she's really trying to say!!!

Another new skill Molly is just beginning to master is finger-sucking. She used to try to suck her fist, but was never quite satisfied because she couldn't manage to fit the whole thing into her tiny little mouth. Well, she's recently discovered how to separate and suck individual fingers. It usually ends up being her pointer finger and thumb together, but occasionally she gets just her thumb in there. It looks like pure heaven for a few moments until it pops out and she can't manage to get it back in there. She visited her cousins, Corbin and Isaiah, last week. Isaiah tried to teach her his own favorite finger-sucking technique but she's not quite as talented as he is yet. Someday, she'll get the hang of it.

Molly is also learning how to become a master bottle-feeder. We try to give her a bottle of expressed breastmilk at least once a week to keep her acclimated to the experience. That way, when I go back to work in 3 WEEKS (!), it won't be a totally foreign experience. I can't believe that my maternity leave is almost over. It seems like Molly was born just a few weeks ago. Part of me is really looking forward to getting back into the job that I love. But the other part of me just can't imagine being away from my baby for 8 hours out of every day. I'm just trying to savor every moment of the next 3 weeks and not worrying about crossing that bridge until it's right in front of me. At least Molly will be spending her days with her Daddy and not with strangers.

The three of us had a unique opportunity this week to be invited back to our Bradley childbirth class as "alumni guest speakers". We got to share our birth story, as well as tips for breastfeeding and newborn care, with the new couples in the class. It's amazing to think that, just 2 months ago, we were in the same exact position they're in right now...very pregnant, scared, excited, and completely in the dark about what it's like to care for a newborn. At this point, we're certainly no experts, but it's amazing how much you learn about your baby in just 2 short months. Parenthood is the ultimate on-the-job training. We are the experts on Molly Joy Frueh. We know her better than any other human beings on the face of the earth and it's a pretty sweet place to be.

Here we are at our Bradley class speaking engagement :-) Eric and I got to share all the details of our birth story and the adventures of the last 8 weeks. Molly got to be the sample baby passed around for all the couples to practice holding.

Here are a few other pictures taken in the last 2 weeks:

Molly got to meet her big cousin, Corbin, for the first time. Corbin loved holding and kissing Baby Molly :-)

Bath time is one of our favorite times of the day.

6 Weeks Old!

Molly is 6-weeks old today! This is the point at which fussiness is supposed to decrease and the first social coos and smiles appear. Well, Molly must be an early-bloomer because we've already seen results on both counts! Finally, after 6 weeks I think we're really getting to know Molly and she's becoming accustomed to this big, wide world. We're doing a better job of reading her hungry, tired, or uncomfortable crying cues and responding accordingly. She has even started to nap on her own in her crib (Hallelujah!!!). For the last 3 days, we've been able to put her in her crib drowsy-but-awake for her morning naps. The first day it took 15 minutes of on-and-off crying before she was asleep, but today, there was only 6 minutes of crying before she was off to snooze-land. We used to have to go to great lengths to soothe her to sleep, usually bouncing her on the physio-ball until she stopped crying and became drowsy, then putting her in the Moby wrap. It's amazing how freeing it is to have her napping in her crib in a separate room and NOT attached to my body. I've been able to do laundry and other chores around the house, not to mention eating and showering ;-) She's still having trouble with putting herself to sleep for afternoon naps, but those tend to develop later anyway. Besides, I'm not quite ready to give her up completely for napping. I'm savoring the moments she spends sleeping on my chest because I know it won't be long before I won't have a "newborn" anymore that can sleep on me.

She is growing so fast. She's officially outgrown her newborn pajamas! She'd been getting close for a while. Her feet were filling up the little pajama "footsies" and the sleeves were getting short. But we started using our cloth diapers this week and that definitely pushed her over the edge for fitting in her old jammies. We LOVE the cloth diapers, but they are so bulky that her puffy little bum fills the pajamas up :-) The cloth-diapering experiment has been a great success so far. It's a relief to not feel like we're constantly "wasting" expensive disposable diapers. If she dirties a clean diaper on the changing table, it's no big deal. We just throw it in the laundry bucket, knowing we can wash it and use it again another day. Plus, that squishy cloth-diapered bum is just oh-so-adorable!

Daddy returned to work this week after his wonderful 5 weeks of paternity leave. It was scary at first to imagine being with Molly for 8 hours of every day by myself, but after a few days we've established our own routine of playing, eating, soothing, napping, and bedtime. I've learned to do lots of things one-handed and to prepare meals for myself in advance before Eric goes to work for the day. Now that all the grandparents, neighbors, and 24-hour-Dad have returned to their normal lives, I'm realizing that I really AM a mother, and it's a job I'm created for and capable of. It's true what they say that when a baby is born, a mother is born as well. God blesses new mothers with instincts that help them take the best possible care of their babies. I am beginning to trust those instincts more day by day as I fulfill this new role in my life.

Molly, Mommy, and Daddy had a new experience recently...a date night. Molly had her first evening with babysitters (my fellow OCS teachers who've had dibs on babysitting rights for months!) while Eric took me out on a date for my 26th birthday. He took me out to Tyler's Taproom in downtown Durham. It's located in the old Lucky Strike factory which has been converted into retail and office space. It was fun to be out again as a twosome, but it also felt a little strange, like a piece of us was missing. During my pregnancy, I got used to strangers touching my belly and asking when I was due, if it was a boy or girl, etc. Since Molly's been born, I've gotten used to strangers peeking in the carseat, stroller, or carrier and asking how old she is and, once again, if she's a boy or girl (even if she's decked in pink from head to toe). It was odd to be out as a couple without a baby belly or a stroller for strangers to peek at. It was just us. It was a great opportunity to get reacquainted with each other as husband and wife. I feel like we've been seeing each other as "Mommy" and "Daddy" for the last few weeks and I almost forgot what it was like to view Eric as just my husband. I think we both did a good job of not worrying about Molly for the evening, but we were both surprised when we decided to head back to pick her up and realized we'd only been out for less than 2 hours. It felt like we'd been away from our little girl for much longer. We enjoyed our time out, but it was a great feeling to cuddle Molly in our arms again once we returned!

Here are a few pictures of the last few weeks:

Molly loved her first Steeler's game! Her GG bought her a cheerleading outfit. It's still a bit big, but we just had to break it out for the opening game of the season. It must've been a good luck charm because the Steelers beat the Titans that night. However, Molly was napping in her jammies during today's Steeler's game and they lost to the Bears :-(

Now that Molly is becoming so grown up and sleeping so well on her own, I think both Eric and I will miss our naptime snuggles with her.

One of Molly's absolute favorite activites is sucking...on ANYTHING! For the first few weeks, I mistook this desire for hunger until I realized that I was becoming a 64-inch pacifier. This is when Molly discovered her fist. She has not yet figured out how to separate individual fingers for her sucking pleasure so she attempts to fit the entire fist in her mouth. I love this picture because it looks like she's staring at her fist like it's a giant candy bar. It reminds me of those cartoons where two guys are stuck on a deserted island. When they look at each other, the other person has turned into a pork chop or a drumstick. That's Molly and her hand!

So sad...Molly has now outgrown these adorable giraffe pajamas! 6 weeks and we've already lost our first set of PJs.

One Month Old!!!

I know...I know...It's been FOREVER since I've updated my blog. Well, life has been quite busy in the Frueh household the last few weeks. We did take a trip to the beach and also a trip to New York. My grandfather died suddenly and rather unexpectedly, so that changed our routines and our lives quite abruptly. On top of all that, my pregnancy predictions are proving quite correct and God has blessed us with a "spirited" child :-) Through all the kicks and squirms of the last five months of my pregnancy, I predicted that Molly would be filled with spirit and joy. Well, the spirit is here. We're hoping the joy comes later ;-) We're eagerly awaiting Molly's first true coos and smiles, if for no other reason than to reassure her weary parents that she really does like us and that she is capable of expressing emotions other than angry crying.

Molly loves to be with her family. If anyone in the house is up and awake, she wants to be up and awake with them. And if you're busy doing something without her, she'll definitely let her voice be heard and let you know where she is until you pick her up and let her join in the fun. She only likes to nap if Mommy or Daddy naps with her. Otherwise, I think she's afraid she'll miss something exciting that we're up to, which usually only includes trying to take a shower or fix a meal. It's the funniest thing...we'll rock her into a deep sleep and carefully lay her in her bassinet. It won't be five minutes before she'll wake up screaming. One of us will pick her up and hold her to our chest and INSTANTLY she's back asleep. Yet, if she falls asleep in the Moby wrap or carrier, strapped to our body, she'll sleep solidly for 2-3 hours, no problems! She certainly knows how to get what she wants. She'll scream at the top of her lungs until we put her in the carrier so she can travel around with us. Consequently, I'm sitting here, updating my blog with Molly in her Moby wrap. I also prepare meals, eat meals, make phone calls, email friends, read, pack and unpack suitcases, and wander through airports, all with Molly swaddled to my chest. It almost feels like I'm pregnant again, except this time my "belly" can cry!



Molly celebrated her one month birthday today with her first trip to the pediatrician. She has continued the streak she started in pregnancy of being a perfectly "average" baby by measuring in at the 50th percentile for height and weight. She is 21.5 inches long and weighs 9lb. 30z. All that breastmilk she's been consuming every 1-3 hours for the last month has been doing its job and she's growing beautifully. She's in perfect health and the doc even gave us some possible explanations for her excessive fussiness. He thinks she may have problems with gastric reflux that can be easily remedied by making some simple changes in my diet. That way we can keep offending foods out of my breastmilk and out of little Molly's tummy. We're going to give it a try for a few weeks and see how things go. It's unbelieveable to me that Molly's already one month old!!! It seems like she just joined our family last week. I bet I'll be making similar statements for the next 18 years or so :-)


Here's a look at just some of the adventures Molly's enjoyed during her first month in the world:



Most of Molly's first beach experience was spent snoozing under the umbrella, which Mommy didn't mind too much because it meant she could snooze under the umbrella too :-)


The first real bath was quite successful. Molly actually enjoys being naked, even at diaper changes, and the warm water was a new, exciting adventure.




We bought Molly a swing, thinking that perhaps it would help in soothing her to sleep. I think this is the only picture we have of her actually sleeping in the swing and that's because we rocked her to sleep first and then put her in the swing. This look of peace lasted all of 5 minutes before she realized she wasn't in the arms of her favorite parents.



Now, THIS is more like it. This is where Molly likes to hang out most of the day (despite the look of terror on her face, she really does like to be in Daddy's arms). And if she's not with Daddy, she's napping with Mommy. And Mommy certainly doesn't mind the excuse to catch a few zzzzs.


Molly slept through her entire first plane trip to NY thanks in part to her Beco baby carrier, which she loves. Some of the other passengers in the terminal were giving us some nervous glances as we boarded the plane, surely with images of screaming babies in their heads, but she didn't make a peep the entire trip!

Once in NY, Molly got a chance to spend some wonderful quality time with her Great-Grandma Henry. We were all sad that Great-Grampa Henry never got a chance to meet her, but we know that he's looking down on her and smiling!

The trip to NY exposed Molly to a bit different weather than what she experienced on her trip to the beach with GG and Pop. Instead of 90's, temperatures instead ranged from the 40's to the 70's. She even got a chance to wear the pink sweater her Great-Grandmother Frueh made for her when we went on our morning walks.

Daddy had some fun one morning impersonating "Molly faces" in bed :-)
We took a family hike to the top of the Grafton firetower. It overlooks eastern NY, western Massachusetts, and southwestern Vermont. Eric and I actually took this exact same hike when we were in Grafton in April. At the time, I was 6 months pregnant, but I don't think Molly saw much more this time than she did when she was up here in utero. She slept the entire time in her Beco carrier, close to her Daddy's chest.

"Well, that's all folks. 'Til next time, stay cool and don't take life too seriously. I certainly don't."

Adventures in Parenting: Week One

We've survived our first week as parents. We've laughed, we've cried, and we've learned quite a few lessons...

Lesson 1: Unless you want to wash the changing table cover on a daily basis, ALWAYS put a clean diaper under the baby before the dirty one has been removed. Molly loves to wait until she's completely bare to let the poops and pees fly. This usually causes the designated changer to erupt into screams while Molly stares up, confused by the uproar. Occasionally, it's been bad enough to lead to an impromptu sponge bath, which causes Molly to join in with the screaming.



Lesson 2: A quiet, content baby is not a goal you should strive to achieve. She WILL cry and often there's no easily identifiable reason for it. She's fed, clean, warm, and comfortable. She just needs to cry. And for that reason...

Lesson 3: Grandparents are gifts from God! When all your baby wants is to be walked, rocked, jostled, snuggled and kissed, it's great to have the extra loving arms of grandparents around to give you a break.



























Lesson 4: Little girls love their daddies! Molly's fussy time is usually between 8 and 11pm. During that time, if she's not being fed, she wants to be with her daddy. Molly has fallen in love with Eric, and vice versa. Whether he's reading Reader's Digest to her, playing her a mix of his favorite 80's rock, or rocking her with his signature "airplane method", she's never as content as she is with him!
































Lesson 5: Who needs booze when you have milk?! I've never seen a human being look more drunk than Molly does at the end of a feeding. We call it her "milk coma". She turns into a floppy, sleepy ball of jello. She reminds me of Templeton the Rat in Charlotte's Web after he's feasted on the carnival food at the county fair. Ahhh...the life of a newborn...eat, sleep and be merry!




Lesson 6: Adjusting to life outside the womb is hard work. Sometimes Molly acts like she'd still like to be in her warm watery home. She loves to be snuggled close to her Mommy in her Moby wrap. Quite often, the Moby wrap is the only way that we could sit down together to eat a meal. And if every other avenue fails to get her to sleep, the Moby is sure to work. It makes sense that she'd like to be snuggled up. Afterall, that's the positition she's been in for the last few months. Even when she's not all wrapped up, Molly still assumes her curled up position. We call this pose her "praying feet". It must have been a favorite of hers in utero because she ends up in this position quite often.



Yes, the first week has held its challenges, but mostly it's been filled with joy. It's been absolutely amazing to get to know this brand new little person. It's hard to imagine that she's been living inside of me for the last nine months and now, all of a sudden, here she is...a whole new person, completely dependent on us to provide her with all her needs. We've been having a great time getting acquainted, learning about her needs and her personality. So far, we've learned that she's a spirited little lady who knows what she wants and when she wants it! She has pushed her boundaries from the very beginning. She's not content to lay still...ever! (unless she's in a deep sleep) She's much rather be kicking those little frog legs or attempting to roll over or crawl (yes, crawl!!!). All the grandparents agree, this one's going to be a handful VERY early. She may look more like her daddy, but she's a wiggler and climber like her mommy. My own mom had her hands full when I walked at 9 months and climbed soon after. Quite often, she'd walk into a room to find me attempting to climb on the table, the piano, the back of the couch, even to the top of the refrigerator once! Molly appears to be planning to give her mommy a taste of her own medicine! We've loved meeting our little girl this week and look forward to falling deeper in love with her in the weeks, months, and years to come.

Here are a few more pics...just because we can't stop taking pictures of our little snuggle bug :-)




Aunt Joy meets her namesake, Molly Joy.

Eric gets Molly ready for her first outing...a trip to church on her one-week birthday.

Molly likes to sleep the same way her mommy always has, with her hands tucked right up under her chin. No matter how tight we swaddle her, those little hands find their way out. One night we woke up to find that she had pulled her arm out of the sleeve of her nightgown and stuck it up through the neck of the nightgown, just to get that hand up under her chin!