And a quick weigh update: Derek and I weighed Stella on Friday and she was a whopping 12 lbs and 1 oz. Go Stella! :)
Derek and I decided that since Stella was such an angel during mass last week that we'd take her to mass again this weekend. Note: we did not say that she was an angel during the baptism. She wasn't. She screamed through the entire thing. Well, I had put this ADORABLE pink and orange dress on her that Megan gave us as a shower gift. I was so excited for her to wear it, and she looked so stinking cute in it. Hot pink and orange really go with her skin tone. Well, on our way out the door, she spit up all over herself. And not just a "spit up." I'm talking a full, blow-out quality vomit. Well, we did a fast wardrobe change, and thankfully, she didn't get it all over me.
We made it to mass with plenty of time - which is so unlike us - and we sat down. I like to sit in the front of the Cathedral so I can see, so that's where we sat. During the first reading, she started fussing. Derek took her outside, and I was left in mass by myself. She lost a shoe in the aisle, and some nice man picked it up and gave it to me. After the profession of faith, I decided Derek and Stella had been gone too long. I went outside to see what was up, and she was just being generally irritable. I took her, and we came back in but sat in the back. Well, she lost it again, and I had to go outside with her. I looked back in through the doors just in time for communion, and I ran up quickly with her. We sat down, and she managed through the last five minutes of mass. I'm telling you - taking a baby to church can be rough. I had always thought, "Why don't they shut that thing up?" Now, I think "Wow, your baby only screamed once?" I think it's important for her to go so she gets accustomed to going, and she needs to understand the importance of it. I know that she's too young for that now, but I think this is more for us to get the hang of dealing with a fussy baby during mass.
We made it home, and she seemed to be in a good mood. She got a wardrobe change and a feeding, so Derek and I decided to blow up her baby pool - I realize she's a little young but I thought that since she loves her bath so much that she'd like it. Well, no. We sat her in it, and she started screaming. We tossed the whole plan of spending some time in the sun and took her in for a change, feeding, and a nap. Now, we have this hilarious crab baby pool in our backyard. I guess I'll go play in it. I'm still wearing my swim suit. Here's the stock, Target photo of the crab. I haven't had the mental energy to take any of my own photos, and besides, it's not as pristine as this one...
I realize you're probably thinking, "You morons, a baby pool! She's too young!" But I really thought she could do it since she loves her bath. I didn't want to take her to our community pool since it's full of chlorine and deep. I thought a little puddle of water in a baby pool the shape of a crab would be perfect. Mom gets some sun and plays with Stella, and Stella gets to splash and have fun like she does in the tub. Oh well, we'll try again some other time. Maybe she was just in a mood.
On to other things.. We received her baptism certificate in the mail. Evidently, I'm related to our friends, the Mullens, since it listed my name as "Mindy Mullen." I imagine the secretary probably just made a mistake or misread my maiden name, "Madden." Or, better yet, maybe I'm misreading her handwriting. I haven't decided if I'm going to call them about it since I think it's so stinking hilarious. We did order some prints of her baptism and I made a collage of the best pictures. I bought a frame for it yesterday, and I hope to get it up in the nursery soon. It's tricky hanging things in there. We only have time to do that stuff when Stella's sleeping but most days, she naps in there.
And speaking of her nursery, we tried rearranging the nursery yesterday, and we had a little success. We moved the rocker since it was in a weird spot, and we scooted the crib over some and moved her bookcase. I don't know what to do with it. I'm not entirely sure I like it how it is, but I'll keep working on it.
Now, the other day I posted on facebook that we were having a hell of time with getting Stella to sleep. I had a lot of suggestions about white noise, and we had tried that in the past. We have a white noise machine, and I had stopped using it because I was under the impression that it was bothering her. She usually would get pissed off if I turned it on.
I downloaded a white noise cd - not the most exciting thing to listen to - but it seems to have helped. I play it really loudly on my iPad next to her bassinet. That combined with the noisy humidifier seems to knock her out a lot more quickly than just the humidifier and us shushing her. In other words, thanks for the suggestions. It seems to have helped!
And lastly, this week is a busy week for Miss Stella. On Wednesday, I'm going to visit my former boss Ellen at Georgia Southern. We're making the trek to Statesboro without Derek, so this will be interesting. I'm excited to see Georgia Southern's campus - I love it there! - oh yeah, and I'm pretty excited to see Ellen ;)
This week will also be Stella's first Bloomsday so I guess she and I can read Eumaeus together or maybe I'll dress her in all black. Then, my birthday is on Friday, so we're going to spend the weekend in Atlanta. I SO miss living in a city. I realize I was born in the middle of nowhere but I LOVE cities. I much, much prefer to be in a city. I hope that someday we can move to a decent city and Stella won't have to grow up in the country. Regardless, I'm stoked to hit up Ikea and Whole Foods. I just hope Stella enjoys the trip. It's her first long car ride, so I'm a little nervous. We figure we'll just have to take our time and stop as often as it takes.
Anyway, I better run. It's super sunny outside and Stella's napping. I want to take advantage of this sunshine!
