Libby's Newest Tricks

So Libby has a new word! It's "guh" (said in a soft, adorably breathy girl voice). She can sometimes be persuaded to have a little conversation with Mommy when she's on the changing table:

Libby: "Guh."
Mom: "Guh."
Libby: "Guh."

It's scintillating stuff, I tell you, but this mother's heart melts every time.

She also has learned to (accidentally) suck her tongue, which produces a loud clucking sound. Usually, she manages to do this when she's already in a pissed-off little Libby mood and then it scares the hell out of her. The conversation with herself goes like this:

Libby: grumble, grumble (Libby's ticked-off crabbing sounds)
Libby: [loud click from a suck]
Libby: WAAAAHHHHHHHHHH.
Libby: [Chrissie Snow snort] WAAAAHHHHH.

Here come the Grandparents

Libby's other Grandparents got to meet her this weekend, along with one of her great Grandmothers. Too bad she decided this would be a good time to stay up all night screaming bloody murder. Oh well, everyone had a good visit anyway.

Walking the Walk

This damn Blogger site is killing me! I've been trying to post this message for at least two days...

And now my post:

I have become one of "those people" (as Martin put it); I have gone mall-walking. What can I say? It's cold as hell here, and I needed to get out and get a little exercise (although in actuality I just ate lunch and then shopped). My friend Kelly and her girls Evie and Sophie joined us. Evie continued her love affair with Libby the Real-Live Baby Doll. Sophie referred to Libby as both "puppy" and "baby" on our visit but seemed to like Libby just fine either way.

A good time was had by all ... until Libby pooped herself in blowout fashion. Mommy reached into the diaper bag and grasped ... air. I had forgotten to replenish the diapers. We made do with one of Evie/Sophie's diapers, but since they're about as big as her whole torso, we had to hotfoot it on home after that. Bad Mommy!

Lunchin' With Libby

I'm a little behind on posting this, but Libby had her first lunch with the Game Day ladies last week (oh, and Daddy got to come, too). She slept through most of it but still managed to dazzle one and all with her beauty, charm, and wit. Just after this picture was taken, Jill and Joanna came to blows about who loves Libby more.

Kelly's twin girls were also in attendance. They held up quite well until Mom decided to hold Libby, too, and then there were a few jealous tears. Then Evie realized that Mom was holding a real LIVE baby doll and the jealousy really kicked in. How does Mom get such a fun toy when Evelyn doesn't?!

And when Julie finally got her chance to hold Libby, our fair infant had reached her breaking point of hunger and overstimulation. So poor Julie now continues her belief that she makes babies cry.... Just look at that wail on Libby! She was the best cryer in the building!

And just imagine -- this was all before Libby had a belly button. Imagine the waves she'll create now!

Oh my god! My baby has a bellybutton

Enjoy the view boys and girls, because this is the last time Ms. Libby will be showing her midriff in public, ever.

Yes, last night, in the midst of our most trying nights as a new family yet, Libby lost her umbilical cord. Sometime around 3am (I think) Kerri tapped me on the shoulder and handed it to me. My first inclination was wonder why she was handing me a raisin. But being as tired as I was, I wasn't about to argue and just popped it in my mouth.

Kidding.

If Libby Is Ever ...

If Libby's ever a serial killer, this is the picture they'll use when they discuss her infancy. What a crazy-eyed thing! (Of course, if she's a serial killer, she'll also then be referred to by all three names. News blurb on Libby's A&E special about her life: "Serial killer Libby Vida Barron grew up crazy-eyed to two unstable parents who liked to torture their cats by making the felines sing and dance to an original song titled 'It's So Hard to Be a Kitty.' ")

New slideshow posted

A new slideshow--showing Libby's second and third weeks here among the non-zygotes--has been posted. You can get to it via the link to the right (you may need to hit 'refresh' on the slideshow page to see the new album).

Go, Kari and Scott, Go!

I meant to post this yesterday on race day, but Libby was a bit cantankerous and so I got zilch done. Yesterday was the Chicago Marathon, and our friends Kari and Scott ran it (for the second time -- crazy fools!). We were going to take Libby down for her first marathon-cheering session, but the weather was crazy-cold and rainy-yucky. Darn it all anyway! For those who have never gone and cheered a marathon, I can't recommend it enough. It's so inspiring.

Kari and Scott were awesome enough to bring us some yummy Thai food a week ago for dinner. (This isn't to mention that Kari also brought me sushi in the hospital, which was the BEST.) The above picture is from that night. Kari professed undying love for Libby and promised to come over and babysit regularly, which has caused Martin and I to profess our undying love for her. (As if all of that food wasn't enough to buy our love already.)

We haven't heard from them yet, but I just found online that Kari ran a 4:26 and Scott a 4:03. Woohoo! You guys rock!

Get that child some Noxzema

Libby was born with a potent case of Milia, which looks a lot like acne but actually "are created when dead skin becomes trapped in tiny pockets near the surface of your baby's skin." Recently they've all become red and inflamed (the above pictures don't even do it justice). Now, I stand by the statement that my little girl is the most beautiful baby ever. But, ummm, I'm more willing to entertain the notion that I may be less than my usual objective self right now.

Growth Spurt

Little Ms. Libby is going through her 2-week growth spurt. Along with growing, it's meant that she sleeps little and when she's awake, she either is eating or crying. This has been particularly hard on Kerri who not only has to deal with Libby (pretty much by herself) at night, but had to cope with a whole day of crying today while I was at a training for work.

Thankfully, Libby quieted down once I got home (please pass along to Kerri and anecdotes or stories you have that make it abundantly clear that Libby did not quiet down BECAUSE of me but only because she knew it'd be the best way to mess with Mom's head). She's sleeping now and Kerri's out with friends recuperating. What's Dad up to? Screwing around with Photoshop:

Just Like Grandpa Kennedy

Libby makes me laugh when she does this while trying to sleep and eat because it looks so much like my dad when he naps and is trying to block out the world. Libby has learned the hand-over-the-eyes trick early.

Alas, we haven't seen Libby sleeping a lot these days. She's in the middle of a growth spurt, so she's a (fussy) eating machine. For Mom and Dad's sake, let's hope this phase goes quickly.

Sorry About the Delay

Well, as you see, there are a few new posts that are only just now showing up. Blogger was having some problems posting pictures, but the site seems to have finally worked it out. Thank God! I was tired of writing things that I couldn't post.

We'll have more entries soon (and hope to be able to post some pictures).

Libby's Future Boyfriend

Could this kid be any cuter?? Meet who we're all sure will be Libby's first boyfriend. This adorable long-lashed, smiley creature is Alejandro; he's just a few months older than Libby. Our friends Joanna and Tom are adopting him; Alejandro will be joining them just as soon as the Guatemalan courts can make that happen. In the meantime, they went down to meet him this weekend and sent back these (much-anticipated) pictures. Honestly -- wouldn't he make a great match with our darling Libby?

RIP, Digital Camera

Well, the sad news is that our digital camera seems to have bit the dust. We're sending it in to Fuji, but I'm not holding my breath. At least we have our camcorder to take pics, and Kari and Scott have generously offered to loan us their camera until we find out what's going on. So you should have some pictures to enjoy still.

In the meantime, I'm trying to post that wrinkled-brow, pursed-lip look of Libby's again. I realized after my last post that it's not in the slideshow. It's my favorite expression of hers by far! I often laugh out loud when she makes it (which she really appreciates, by the way).

I wish I could post my favorite Libby sound: this Chrissie Snow(of "Three's Company") snort she makes when she's crying because she's stubborn and ticked off. It is the loudest, most sinus-clearning snort you've ever heard.

Post website problems here...

...And I'm not talking about "well, the colors suck horrible and your author's voice is horrible." I mean technical problems.

Just this morning I was informed that Internet Explorer was again moving the the right-hand picture bar to the bottom of the site. That's fixed now, but who knows for how long (I thought I'd 'fixed' it once already).

If you're having other problems, let me know in the comments and I'll see what I can do to fix them.

I'll also make another plug for using Firefox, which is just a great web browser. It's free, it's got tabbed browsing (which you don't realize you need until you use it, and then you can't imagine how you lived without it), and it's not from Microsoft. You can download it here.

New, New, New

New Pictures:
Martin's uploaded more pictures in the slideshow section. You'll notice a lack of pictures of me with Libby. This is because practically every time she's with me, she's suckling at the teat and modesty precludes posting pictures. Yes, I am now a 24-7 milk cow.

New News:
Libby had her first well-baby checkup at the doctor yesterday. Everything looked great! She's back up to 7 pounds, 11 ounces -- closing in on her birth weight. The way she's eaten today, I'll expect her to be up to 8 pounds by the end of the day. She's been a chowhound!

New Sleep Info:
Libby was an angel last night. She only got up twice and went back to sleep fairly quickly both times. Phew! I got at least two stretches of decent sleep for three hours or so. Ahhhh. Daddy's "shift" is from 8-midnight or so (usually her fussy period ... poor Martin), but she was sound asleep by 10. So he had a really good night's sleep!

New Tricks from Libby:
* She's started wrinkling her brow, which is my all-time-favorite newborn trick. She especially does it when she finishes feeding, and I'm trying to burp her. She wrinkles her brow, purses her lips, and gives a head-rolling bang against my shoulder. Too cute! (There's a picture of this in the slideshow, but I can't seem to get it to post here for some reason.)

* She's taken to falling asleep sooooo hard (usually after a minute or two feeding ... grrr. Wake up, girl!) that her mouth hangs open in a gaping maw of slumbering pleasure. Hilarious. The last picture in the new slideshow shows this well. (Although the picture is wrongly horizontal, so you'll have to turn your head. I'm too lazy to fix it.)

* She's started speaking full phrases in Farsi, English, and French. Martin and I really only expected her to have one language mastered by this point, but -- what can I say? -- our Libby's a cut above the rest.

Sleep? We don't need no stinkin' sleep!

Well, Libby has decided that rather than sleeping at all last night, she'd stay up with mom and dad. " What? Mom and Dad aren't going to stay up all night? Well, I know how to change that!"

It's kinda surprising how little sleep a person needs to function. Though, I wonder if the adrenaline of having her home is just masking the true effect of sleeplessness right now.

Kerri and I did a decent job of swithing off last night. Unfortunately, she has to bear the brunt of it because she has to feed her unless my man boobs suddenly gush forth (which, frankly, I'm neither counting on nor hoping for).

I wonder if a newborn is what the CIA is using to torture al qaeda members with "extreme sleep deprivation." I wonder what that requisition form looks like.

Video!

The very first Libby-cast is now available. You can subscribe to it through itunes if you'd like and you'll get new episodes automatically whenever I post them. Or you can just click on the "Introducing Libby" video to the left.

Welcome Elizabeth Vida

I am delighted to announce the birth of Elizabeth Vida. Baby and mother are both happy and healthy (Dad, on the other hand, is a wreck).

Elizabeth (or ‘Libby’) was born at 3:40pm yesterday, Wednesday October 4, 2006. She weights 8.0 pounds. She is 20 inches long (which apparently is important for some reason). She’s got a chock of dark blonde hair and a wonderful full face. She enjoys solving complex statistical problems*, speaks three languages** and has expressed a strong desire to study Phrenology***.

Kerri was admitted to the hospital Tuesday at 6pm. For the mathematically-disinclined out there, that means 22 hours of labor (assuming you start counting labor from when she checked in). Libby’s stubborn refusal to leave her cozy little nest resulted in the need for a c-section. Both Libby and Mom came through like champs, but needless to say I owe Kerri big time!

--

P.S. “Vida” is Spanish for “life” and its significance is that “Pura Vida” or “Pure Life” is the slogan of Costa Rica. Kerri and I visited Costa Rica in January. For the mathematically-disinclined out there…well, I don’t think anyone can’t figure that one out.

* “Given two source of milk and having exhausted one, what proportion of my milk sources remain”

** “I’m hungry;” “I need to be changed;” “I’m beautiful, pay attention to me”

*** The study of personality traits and potential criminality from the shape and bumps on the head (e.g. Dad’s)

And We're Off!

Well, just when you all started to think I was faking (oh, you know who you doubters are), I am off to the hospital. Contractions have been coming regularly now, so I hope not to be posting a shame-faced new entry in a few hours about how the hospital kicked me out for not being ready....

Think happy thoughts for us. Labor shouldn't take more than, oh, 30 or so minutes, right? I'll have this kid by Henry and Lori's suppertime in California, yes?

Look for more Baby Barron news soon!

So much for "The Wisdom of Crowds"

Well, 57% of you (so far) guessed wrong that the baby would be born before yesterday. Congratulations on disproving one of the central tenets of "Web 2.0"

I can't say Kerri or I find the baby's late arrival particularly surprising. Neither of us likes to get out of bed when we're nice and comfortable, and it looks like baby's found the most comfortable bed of them all.

Finished the Season Now I Just Need to Finish the Baby

No news on the baby front. I have now finished Season 1 of "X-Files" and will be heading toward Season 2 today. If Baby is so late that I get all the way to the really crappy "X-Files" years, I will be very bitter indeed!