Good for us

You know what amazes me?

It amazes me that I've been able to successfully care for my daughter for the past four months now. And by care I mean that she has been able to grow both physically and developmentally. Plants haven't been able to last this long for me, so you can imagine my pride in my growing daughter.

D and I never took a class on infant care. For the most part, we've been winging it, Camille is a product of trial and error. Before she was born, I would wonder if I would do this right, and even how I would know if I was doing this right. On a drive back home from my Mom's one weekend, I went down my list of parenting questions. The type of parenting questions that are not in any books.

How will I know when she moves up a size in clothes?

How will I know when she moves up a size in diapers?

How do I get her on a schedule?

And of course I would stumble upon those questions that I never knew to ask. All these things, all these strange questions that even after hearing my all knowing mother of 3 sisters answers, I still was unsure on how to do this.

Once Camille was born, we brought her home and I was healthy enough to care for her myself (which didn't occur until her 3rd week) I quickly entered that whirlwind of motherhood where everything you do becomes quite a knee jerk response because at that moment you don't have the powers to pause time and contemplate your next move. You just shoot with your instinct and hope your aim was on. I think so far, my aim has been pretty close.

When do I move Camille from 4 oz. bottles to 5 oz. bottles?

How do I get her to not scream hysterically through tummy time?

Then there would be those question that I didn't even know had answers. Over lunch with a friend one day I was telling her how Camille was taking forever and a day to finish her bottles. She just seemed so bored and uninterested. Surprisingly her son had done the same thing to her and there she had the answer, move up the size nipple on her bottle. Could it work? Was it just that simple? See, that is something no one tells you. Sure enough that weekend we headed out to Babies R Us to the Advent section of the store and bought stage 2's. At the next feeding, she immediately went back to her fast and convenient 15 minute feedings.

I have found that I don't rely on books when it comes to finding answer to my questions. I have better than books, I have a circle of experienced good friends, who have been mother's before me and have learned the tricks of the trade. I also have friends who became mothers at the same time as me. We tap into each other's newly formed knowledge.

This system has worked so far. At Camille's 4 month visit on Friday she weighed in a healthy 14 1/2 lbs. And 25 1/2 inches long. I think everyone needs to pat themselves on the back because we are all doing a good job here!