Moooooo!

I like to nap. No, I take that back. I LOVE to nap. And yes, I feel a tad guilty for sleeping so much and wasting much of the day, but I'm taking full advantage before I am back to work again in two weeks. What I'll do for rest when I do go back? Umm...Well, I can drink caffeine. When I'm not breastfeeding. Which is never. So I can't. Maybe I can get some of those fake eyeballs that you put over your closed eyelids so it looks like I'm wide awake at my desk.

And speaking of breastfeeding, Alessandra's eating schedule has taken over my life. I am officially no longer just a girl. I am a girl with udders. Not only do I have to have them whipped out and available every two to three hours, but I also have to be sure and have a decent amount pumped out should I decide that I want to, oh, I don't know...Run to the grocery store or to Target for a quick stop without her. And forget about drinking a large amount of caffeine or even going out for a night (while Grandma and Grandpa are here to babysit...I wish!) to have a glass of wine. That's that much milk I would have to waste because it's tainted with the devil's poison that I've grown to miss so much since the last time I've had it around New Year's Eve, 2008. It's gotten so bad that the other night I had a nightmare that I was pumping waist deep in the middle of an ocean somewhere and feeling devastated as I watched all of the fruits of my labor trickle into the water wasted. As much as I'm not a fan of being tied to the "Lactation Leash" though, I know that it's best for Ali and I will continue to persist for at least a few more months so she can reap all of the benefits and we can continue to bond. I'll just be sure and remind her about how much of an effort that I put forth when she's fifteen telling me how much she hates me because I won't drive her to the mall.

Of course, for as much as she eats, she poops twice as much. Never before has another human being shat upon me so nonchalantly and callously, and never before would I have entertained the fact that I would have treated that human being with such adoration after being shat upon. I strongly believe that her defecation schedule is cold and calculated. Alessandra seems to wait until a visitor is holding her just so, with their hand supporting the very butt that will eject the stuff of [now] legend and she will let it rip. There is never any question as to whether she filled her drawers at that very moment. The distinct and wet sound of baby poo being spewed along with the pressure washer feel against the holders' hand makes everyone aware that a diaper change is in the very near future. Her other favorite game to play is "I'm Going to Poop In Your Face!" This is when you wait until you are positive she is done dirtying her diaper and you sort of lean down there with the wipes to make sure you are getting her nice and clean and she will give it one last push to try and get you square in the face. Luckily, she has not yet succeeded at this game's goal quite yet...But she's been too close for comfort. And...I am officially one of those mothers who discusses her child's poop. Joy.

We've also been dealing with a mean case of combination skin that would make any teenager relate. At the same time that we are lathering her skin with lotion to fend of what resembles Leper-like conditions with dry and peeling skin, we are also dealing with "baby acne" as they call it, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Poor girl. Let's just hope that she's getting it over with now so when she is a teenager she'll have picture-perfect skin.

The only other complaint that I have coming out of all of this so far is not so much the Baby Blues as they call it, but moreso the Baby Bitterness. I find myself very bitter and resentful (especially with poor Ricardo) when he is simply able to step out for an errand, head to the bar with friends to watch the game, or fix himself a nightcap on a Friday evening. Little events that I took for granted pre-baby are now a thing of the past.

All of these seemingly negative things that I have just mentioned, however, are NOTHING in comparison to all of the positive experiences and feelings that having my daughter has brought to me. Not only is she such a good baby, she is just so darn CUTE! Here she is in her outfit that Aunt Yole got her, the Trumpette socks that Aunt Kristi sent, on top of the bunny blanket that Aunt Dawn gave her, which is on top of the Boppy that Jen gave to us. We are so spoiled already with all of these goodies from friends and family! My favorite is when she sleeps with her arms up like that. I read somewhere that when a baby sleeps with their arms up, they are extremely content. :)



She only seems to cry when she needs something, so we just start from the top of the list and work our way down. Check the diaper, feed her, wrap her in a blanket and hold her. She also seems to get a little bit grumpy each night before she falls asleep which I can handle if she does that before I am in bed too as opposed to in the middle of the night. We really only have to get up with her once in the middle of the night and she'll just alert us with a bit of grunting and rolling around in her bassinet. She also grunts when she streeeeeeeetttches every morning when we take her out of her swaddler PJs. This routine probably last around 15 minutes every day. She just sits there in her little diaper and stretches with those arms over her head and makes big grunting noises all while she makes funny faces. It is the cutest thing ever, I love her so much.

Grandma and Grandpa Torres are visiting this week and were so excited to meet their sixth granddaughter. Grandma T has a great singing voice which seems to entertain Ali quite a bit since there are no decent singing voices under this roof! I don't think I know all the words to a single lullaby even if I did. I best study up!



On the agenda this week: Kristi is coming in tomorrow from Charleston while Cardo goes off recruiting at Michigan State. I'll be happy to have Kristi in to help me but also just to see her! I haven't seen her since my wedding two years ago! Hard to believe it's been that long...

Not sure if this will work, but I've created a Snapfish account so that you can view all the rest of the photos that I haven't posted here. I've posted one huge album that contains almost all of the pictures since early pregnancy until now, but the albums should be much smaller moving forward. Please let me know if you can't get in.

Use the following link and code to gain access and enjoy!:

address: http://teamtorres.snapfish.com/netscape
room code: alessandra