Who says I k'ant?

Off-Broadway, Baby

My play crooked's getting a little Off-Broadway run this spring. The official opening is April 19, Sophie's first birthday. I'm thinking baby Birthday party in Central Park in the morning and gin-soaked adult-only party in the evening. Come one. Come all. Here's the link: http://www.womensproject.org/07-08_season.htm

Feed me, Seymour!

Sophie has recently taken an interest in grown-up food, and so I've taken to giving her a lick of apple here and there, a dab of syrup from my finger; on Sunday, I swear she tried to chomp down on a piece of cantaloupe. And so I figured at a week shy of six months, she was ready to take on solid food. The rice cereal was a disaster. First she tried to dunk her whole head into the bowl and then spit out every spoonful we put into her mouth. Next we gave her a little banana (because that's what Eli likes to eat), and it went over a little better, but she pretty much cried throughout the whole ordeal.

I'm not anxious to try again anytime soon.

Sit, or get off the can

Sit, who me?

Not really interested.

Frankly, I can drool just as well lying down.

Please, make it stop!

Much better....ah....

We are still not a napping house...

Today, instead of taking two naps, Sophie has cried for two forty-five minute sessions: once with her babysitter and once with me. Having browsed the Ferber book (I didn't actually read it but feel, having scanned the chapter on naps while holding a murmuring baby on my hip at the local crappy bookstore that's really not a bookstore but actually a movie rental store, I am definitely an expert), I think the problem is she sleeps too long at night: 12-13 hours. According to Dr. Ferber, 12-13 hours of sleep is all a baby needs total and therefore, sleeping too long at night may pose problems at nap time.

Allow me to ask you this, dear readers: would you wake a sleeping baby up at 6am on a cold Kansas morning so that she might sleep better during the day?

Pumpkin Patch Kid

We are not a napping house

Before Sophie was born, I envisioned writing plays on my laptop while my foot gently rocked my baby to sleep in her cradle. I imagined writing while she dozed in her Moses basket beside me, and writing while her Daddy took her for long walks in the early morning hours. Needless to say, none of these things have ever happened. Mankind has not invented a contraption that my baby will nap in. Not in a bouncy seat, not in a car seat, not in a moses basket, not in a sling. None of things will my baby nap in, no siree.

So we've arranged for some childcare, so I can get some more writing done. It's a great arrangement, and I couldn't be more pleased. Sophie's caretaker is a former elementary school teacher named Stacie who will watch Sophie with her own two daughters, ages 1 and 3. We took a shot of Sophie on her first morning meant to be spent away from her Mommy.

Of course, one hour after dropping Sophie off, Stacie called me to come pick her up again, because her three year old was throwing up. Oh well, we'll try again on Monday.

Fortunately, Carl does not have as much trouble blocking out the sounds of a wailing baby as I do.